The fellowship revised
by evil beings roaming the earth
Summary: A getting-quite-popular-people-dropped-into-Middle-Earth fic. what more can I say? NOT A MARY-SUE!!!!!!
1. i can't think of a name for this one!

The Fellowship *Revised*  
  
Disclaimer: Recognisable characters are Tolkiens's, the others belong to the people they are.  
  
A/N: Blah-di-dah.This is a getting-quite-popular-people-dropped-into-Middle- Earth-type fic. Fo, Shu, anyone Silei and I know who is reading this, just don't kill us, K? A joint work between the two of us, seeing as neither is that good at writing.People featured, I hope you won't mind usage of nicknames. If you really do we'll change it. Or if you would rather prefer us not to use real names.  
  
~Into Middle Earth~  
  
It was a hot, sultry Wednesday in the tiny inconspicuous island of Singapore. And *all* the air conditioners in Raffles Girls' Secondary (RG for short), weren't working. Which meant no air-con after PE. Silei and Diana were aiming javelins at each other. So much for the teacher shouting out safety rules in the background. In a nearby classroom, Pris was asleep.  
  
Meanwhile, a matter of miles away at Nanyang Girls' High (or NY), life was *slightly* better. Actually, it was a lot better. The girls there were having recess. Fo, Shu, and Nez were throwing netballs at each other, soon to be joined by Claire, Gwen, and Sara. It seemed a nice, normal Wednesday. It wasn't going to stay so.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ " I'm beat."  
  
Silei threw herself into a chair in the extremely stuffy classroom that was devoid of air conditioning. Against Singapore's summer, the puny four fans dangling from the ceiling were quite very useless. It was now Higher Chinese. Boring old Chinese. Boring teacher. Within five minutes into the lesson Silei was busy with her History notes and Diana was reading under the desk (trademark of her).  
  
"What the -"  
  
Silei blinked. She could have sworn that the air around had suddenly cooled. A lot. And it wasn't raining. The ceiling had turned from nasty olive green into tree-leaf green. The walls were turning brown and seperating into rods. The bare concrete floor evolved into grass.  
  
The two found themselves sprawled onto the floor as the tables and chairs dissapeared with a loud popping noise. Then, as suddenly as the change had started, it stopped. Diana and Silei were sitting in a small forest clearing. Alone. Evidently, the rest had all been left behind.  
  
"Oh Lord. What on earth was going on?"  
  
"Where is this anyway?"  
  
" This does not look tropical."  
  
A red squirrel disappeared into the foliage above. Diana turned slowly to Silei.  
  
"Unless I'm very much mistaken...We're in Europe."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Bloody freakin' hell!"  
  
"Shurrup, Fo."  
  
"Where.."  
  
Polinn stood up from where she had been crumpled on the ground. Shu and Nez gave Claire a hand , and they looked about at the very dense woods surrounding them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In yet another part of the forest, Gwen found herself face to face with someone she had not seen for a veeeery long time.  
  
"Pris?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
*Mirkwood*  
  
Legolas had been three days on the road to Rivendell, sent by his father. Mounting his light brown stallion for another day of travelling, he suddenly felt an omnious presence crash from out of the blue onto the road in front of his horse. The frightened animal reared in shock, and the elf found himself thrown to the ground... 


	2. First Sight of Rivendell

Disclaimer: Blah.  
  
Here goes.. I'm getting annoyed with playing around with the names. I'm transferring this from my notebook, and I've used nicknames there to save time, so forgive the mistakes in the past chapter if I used nicknames for some and proper names for others. Everyone will be referred to by their proper name from here on. But of course dialouge we'd still use nicknames.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Morning was turning into afternoon. Polinn, Shuwen, Inez, and Claire had been wandering the woods for what seemed like an eternity.  
  
"I want a netball." Shuwen moaned.  
  
"I wanna go home." Claire wailed.  
  
"Shut up. I saw something. Over there."  
  
"Hey! Lookie."  
  
"Aren't those two figures familiar?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Damn!"  
  
Silei had succeeded in getting stuck in a pothole earlier that day, and they had not been able to get anywhere.  
  
"Bloody whatever refuses to let me go."  
  
"Life couldn't be better."  
  
"AHHH---"  
  
The two were set upon by four people come crashing out of the surrounding bushes and pounding onto them.  
  
"Ha! Gotcha!"  
  
"Sheesh. Shut UP Nez."  
  
"Yeah, instead of xiu shou pang guan." [A/N: Damn chinese lesson on cheng yu (proverbs) got stuck in my head. For the benefit of those non-chinese- speaking people, "xiu shou pang guan" means, literally, to calmly stick your hands up your sleeves and watch the calamity unfold. Yeah I know it's quite impossible to stick you hands up the sleeves of your tee, but the people who wrote the proverbs were *ancient* so think Confucius type clothing and you'll get the meaning.]  
  
Five minutes later there was a tearing sound as a large root *finally* gave way and Silei's foot came loose.  
  
"I can't believe you were here all day and not have figured out there was a root holding you there!"  
  
"It's called we had spelling coming up and we hadn't studied and we're still panicked."  
  
"Veeeery good point."  
  
"Oh just shut up and move. I don't want to spend tonight here."  
  
"Why? Scared of the dark, Clairy?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Gwen and Pris had not been as lucky as to meet their friends. However, they were at the edge of the trees, which made life much easier for them. They were within sight of human habitation. Well.maybe not human. There was something definitely not human about the large buildings ahead. A .heavenly.quality. And it did look familiar to Gwen.  
  
"I can't remember where I've seen it!!!!!"  
  
Pris tried to make herself useful.  
  
"Book? Picture? On holiday? Movie? -"  
  
Whatever Pris had to say, it got cut off.  
  
"That's it! Oh my god, Pris. It's Rivendell."  
  
"That makes us in New Zealand. Yeah right."  
  
"I somehow don't think so. No filming stuff, no tourists."  
  
"Not even signs of cars or big trucks."  
  
They made their way closer. Then they saw a pointy-eared being with long blonde hair that had a *very* familiar do come out of what looked like the porch. He disappeared into a long block nearby and came out moments later leading a proud white horse, its bejewelled harness indicating the rider was of nobility. It also told the girls that they were no longer in the year 2003.  
  
"That's an old-fashioned harness, or I've never seen one. Look at the style."  
  
Pris was quicker to cotton on.  
  
"It's an elf!"  
  
"Which figures."  
  
"We're in.:  
  
"Middle Earth!"  
  
The duo found themselves hauled up by two large, tall peoples.  
  
"Eee. *insert signature Gwyneth scream* Help!!!"  
  
"Well, Elladan," one of then said, with something bordering amusement in his voice. "What have we here?"  
Need feedback, people!  
  
Special thanks to other authors Clarenova, Constance, Jennifer Jolie, and Htenywg for letting me feature them in this story. 


	3. Enter Sara

Chapter 3: Enter Sara  
  
Disclaimer: What's Tolkien's is Tolkien's, satisfied?  
  
I hope you people don't find this crap.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara had found herself suddenly yanked away from an extra violent recess netball game to God-knows-where. And now she was on the way to Rivendell with a very irritated elven prince. Any normal being would have been in hysterics. However, Sara, having gotten her bearings and the situation, was *enjoying* herself. So you doubt her sanity? You have good reason to do so. Ah well, insanity is a trait of our old class.  
  
Legolas had decided to continue to Rivendell with Sara. *Hopefully* Elrond would be able to deal with her. She was riding pillion behind him, and even now was playing with his hair. He rolled his eyes and quickened the pace. He was seriously doubting whether he would survive this journey.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
By late afternoon, Polinn and company had reached a bridge over a wide rushing river.  
  
"Finally! Some signs there is civilization! I was starting to worry we had landed in the Mesozoic."  
  
"Come on, let's see."  
  
The girls were so busy examining the bridge for clues to where they might be they didn't notice the soft tinkle of harness bells or the dull clop- clop of a lone horse until the rider was upon them.  
  
~*switch point of view*~  
  
Glorfindel was having a very bad day. He had awoken to a particularly nasty prank by the twins Elladan and Elohir. Evidently, they were getting tired of using iced water - they had decided to use ink today. It had taken Glorfindel two hours to wash away the worst stains, and now his hair was still a little.bluish. Then Elrond had told him the Nine were on the loose and after a hobbit bearing the One. All Nine. And he had to find that hobbit before the Nazgul carved him up into mincemeat for the table of the Dark Lord.  
  
And now, he had come upon six girls in .weird. clothing. Two were in short- sleeved shirts and dark blue shorts that only came down to the knees and that looked like skirts. (That's the RG uniform) and the other four were in white sleeveless dresses (the NY uniform) that again, to the elf, were waaay too short. Well, he had only ever seen elf ladies in nice long dresses that sweep the floor. And some had short hair. Again, he was probably too used to pretty long-haired elves, males included. After the quick introductions, he decided they were better off with him. Utterly weaponless (save for the penknives *some* habitually carried with them, and a fat lot of help against orcs they would be), and horseless, they would most definitely end up as orc-dinner if left by themselves. With all the peculiarities. the one with the insanely long braid (Polinn) kept going "Glorfy" in a series of excited high squeals that were getting increasingly annoying. It seemed Asfaloth thought so too. The horse was shifting his weight from side to side and chewing at something imaginary the way horses do when they are annoyed and tense. This was not good for the elf. He would probably be thrown by the animal if this kept up.  
  
Then there was a shout. Glorfindel turned around to find Diana and Silei had grabbed hold of Polinn's braid and Shuwen was threatening to stuff something up her mouth if she didn't shut up. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued on. His relief was soon going to be short-lived.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Back at Rivendell, Gwen and Pris had been taken to Elrond.  
  
"Elladan, Elrohir, leave us awhile, will you?"  
  
"But Ada. These."  
  
"I will explain later."  
  
Pris gulped.  
  
"So you're not going to kill us?"  
  
Elrond gave her a look.  
  
"No. You see." he gestured to a long cushioned bench in front of the study's large picture window. "Your coming has been long expected."  
  
Gwen let out a long, typical Gwen-shriek. [A/N: those I know, you know what I mean. To all you others, be glad you haven't heard it before. It's worse than a banshee.]  
  
"WHAT???!!!"  
  
"Sh!" Elrond turned to his bookcases and searched among the meticulously organized drawers. "I cannot easily reveal my information sources, but it is said you will have a great part to play in the War of the Ring. But we were expecting nine. What of the others?"  
  
"What others?"  
  
The elf-lord sighed.  
  
"Perhaps the power was not strong enough to call all here at once. Never mind. You will be given rooms. We will wait until all appear to discuss this matter. Do not reveal this to anyone."  
  
Just then a head poked itself around the door.  
  
"Ada? We were downstairs just now and we thought we heard some chicken being slaughtered up here."  
  
Pris poked Gwen's ribs in amusement.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Right, hope this is still okay with you peoples (  
  
Darn. Quick, change document before my mum finds out!!!!! 


	4. A Heck a lotta Arguments

Chapter 4: A *lot* of Arguments  
  
A note. THIS IS NOT A MARY-SUE!!!!!!!! For god's sake the nine featured "drop-ins" are all real people who are all only twelve or thirteen! *bashes head into the wall* I repeat: NO MARY-SUE AND NO SLASH!  
  
Disclaimer: Quote Clarenova "I diss the claimer"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was the third day Legolas had spent with Sara, and already he had gnawed his lip until it was almost bleeding. He had now resorted to making the girl sit in front of him, for the sake of his heavily abused hair, but now he wasn't too sure the horse was pleased. Sara, rather uncomfortable in that position, had taken to grabbing at the martingale ( that's the three straps of leather that meet at the horses' chest, looks something like dividing a circle into thirds or a peace sign minus the circle, argh I stink at descriptive.) every time she felt like falling off (very often) and in the process pulling back the poor animal so that it half reared.  
  
Legolas once more had to stop the horse to let Sara get back into a comfortable position.  
  
"Didn't they teach you to ride, wherever you came from?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Don't you even have horses? I mean, -"  
  
"No, unless at the zoo. Don't you have cars?"  
  
"What's that?!"  
  
"My retort to you for asking stupid questions."  
  
Sara quickly switched the subject before she had to go through the torture of explaining modern electronics to the elf again.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Up the Misty Mountains. We are taking the shortest route possible to Rivendell - the High Pass."  
  
"Won't the horse not make it through?"  
  
"It wouldn't. Soon I'll be sending it back to Mirkwood. It knows the way. What's more I think it'll be all too pleased to be rid of you."  
  
"Thanks for the compliment."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The largest group of the girls had spent the night with Glorfindel. Now Polinn was trying to convince Glorfindel, a little bemused as to where he might find the hobbits in so large an area, to head to Trollshaws. It was not easy going. What with being dragged through time and space and the nice plasma in space, then tramping through miles upon miles of woodland for a day and a half, not to mention lack of sleep, which did not exactly help tempers.  
  
Glorfindel turned to Polinn.  
  
"Are you sure we should be making for Trollshaws? Surely they can travel faster than that!"  
  
"A million times yes, you twit." Polinn sighed.  
  
"Nah, only perhaps a thousand."  
  
"Shut up, Nez." Shuwen growled.  
  
"Look," Diana snapped. "If you really doubt what we know we'll tell you! You're searching for the four perian, right? And one of them has the bloody One ring? We can tell you more. Aragorn's with them, the one who bears the ring got stabbed by the Witch-King, all nine are thundering after them! And we haven't gotten one single bloody mile without you two going on about "should we really go this way" and "what do you know about this". For God's sake! Can't you just trust Pofo and *MOVE*?"  
  
Glorfindel had no reaction for some time except to look shocked, both by the news and the sudden outburst.  
  
"Fine, fine, let's go"  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
Glorfindel cringed a little and took hold of Asfaloth's bridle to lead him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Review!!!!!!! 


	5. No title yet

Chapter 5: Blah. No title yet.  
  
Disclaimer: Lah-di-dah.  
  
No comment for the present.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Legolas let out a soft groan of frustration. Sara had stumbled yet again in the snow. He was in an awful mood. Yesterday afternoon he had set his horse on the way home to Mirkwood, and now they were halfway up the mountain. He had quite forgotten how slow humans were compared to elves, and how they were not as resistant to cold.  
  
Sara pulled herself back up and shot a glare at the elf.  
  
"You could bloody do something, instead of just *staring*! "  
  
"Hurry up."  
  
"Oh! That's all you can say!"  
  
"If we want to gain the summit by nightfall you'd better keep up."  
  
"And what makes you think I want to?"  
  
Legolas was totally frustrated. Sara was so exasperating. she seemed to be able to think up split-second retorts for almost everything.  
  
The cold wind blew hard on their faces, whipping hair into their eyes and stinging their cheeks. Sara drew the cloak closer around her and continued on in the ever-deepening snow. Then there was a loud creaking. The sound was strangely familiar to Sara, yet she could not remember where she had heard it. Legolas knew.  
  
"The snow is shifting under its on weight! Hurry!"  
  
Of course! It was the sound of heavily-packed snow about to be released in one of nature's most deadly forces. Sara looked up just in time to see the first boulder come loose.  
  
"Drego!" (Run!) Legolas yelled.  
  
Sara made a frantic dive out of the way. In spite of the danger, however, she could not resist shooting back, "As if I needed you to tell me!"  
  
Then more snow came loose, down, heavier and heavier.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Evening saw Glorfindel and co. *finally* stumbling upon Aragorn and the hobbits. Polinn turned triumphantly to the dumbstruck elf.  
  
"Ha! Told you!"  
  
Glorfindel only managed to mumble lamely, "All right, all right, let's go."  
  
Shuwen sniggered.  
  
"Trying to take the glory and credit, huh?"  
  
The golden-haired elf trotted Asfaloth into the midst of the stone trolls.  
  
"Ai na vedui Dunadan! Mae govannen!" (as if anyone needs help with this one.)  
  
Dismounting, Glorfindel strode over to the Ranger. Just as the girls strode in.  
  
"Glorfindel, ma na.hyn?" (who are they?)  
  
Aragorn cast his glance over them. Bedraggled, tired, but still plainly screaming "Trouble" with a capital "T".  
  
"Edain. And narn.." (Humans. Long story.)  
  
For the sake of the hobbits they then switched to the common speech.  
  
"The Peredhil sent me out to search for the Ringbearer."  
  
"There are nine black riders behind us. They hear the ring call. We were attacked on Amon Sul. Frodo was stabbed by a Nazgul."  
  
Glorfindel paled. How could they have known? But he pushed aside the question and turned back to the problem at hand.  
  
In the background, the girls were trying hard not to think about how near the Nazgul might be. And they failed.  
  
"If I remember rightly," Inez gulped. "Nine screaming cloaked black idiots on freaky black horses are soon going to make their grand entrance."  
  
"No need to remind us."  
  
"I sense trouble."  
  
"Yeah, trouble with Nez's big mouth."  
  
"But I think there really is!"  
  
"I guess. Frodo with the Ring is a wraith magnet."  
  
"Not to mention that nice helpful bit of knife that's in him."  
  
Claire cringed.  
  
"Don't talk about such things!"  
  
"Then what? The birdies and ikkle bees and the flowers?"  
  
"Good point. I hear no birds."  
  
"See none either. And at this time of day they should be returning to their nests."  
  
"Don't you suppose they just decided to bed down early?"  
  
"That's my damned point. What made them decide to go home early is what worries me. Animals are creatures of habit. They don't just change the itinerary like that."  
  
An unearthly screech in the distance confirmed their fears. Glorfindel came running over.  
  
"Follow now! No time to argue!"  
  
The company set off at a quick pace, Glorfindel leading Asfaloth with Frodo mounted on him, followed by the other three hobbits, then the children, and Aragorn bringing up the rear. Polinn and Shuwen held a whispered conversation.  
  
"How far behind d'you think."  
  
"Don't bloody know, don't bloody want to know."  
  
"Any moment."  
  
"If I recall correctly, they're not supposed to appear till tomorrow."  
  
"The suspense is killing me."  
  
"If *they* don't kill you first."  
  
"Wonderful thought, huh?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Excuse the nasty Elvish, will you? We only just started learning. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Disclaimer: All is Tolkien's except for the girls, who are their own people. *yawn*  
  
Hmm..... Introduce the characters? I think not. You're supposed to pick up their characters in the course of the story.  
  
Sara the Mary-sue? Bad, baaaad mental picture. Ah well, at least it gave us all a good laugh.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara pushed herself out of the snow before it could pack atop her. Where was that elf? Sara trudged out from under the rocky overhang.....  
  
....and tripped over something in the snow.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"What the bloody ------"  
  
"Sara?"  
  
"Legs?"  
  
"You twit! Get off me! Mmmfffff .."  
  
Sara sniggered and pretended to trip over, landing on the elf's head.  
  
"Tut, tut, watch your choice of language. And mind your manners."  
  
"Oh, Eru! Just get off, will you, and stop pushing me in any further! You'll bury me alive!"  
  
"Hmmm... Never thought of that, but that's a nice idea....."  
  
"Shoo!"  
  
"Say please...."  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
"Petulant git."  
  
"Fine. *Please* can you stop leaning on me so I can get out?"  
  
"Hmm..... on account of the snow and my wish to put as much distance between me and this goddamned mountain, I'll let you off *this time*."  
  
Legolas groaned and rolled his eyes, as, in a irritatingly slow way, Sara got up and strolled down the slope whistling, leaving him to pull himself out and charge after her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
One loud screech.  
  
Then an answering one.  
  
Ringwraiths!  
  
"Ride, Frodo! The enemy is upon you!"  
  
The hobbit rode three steps. Then he stopped.  
  
"It's the wraiths!" Aragorn cried. "They're holding him!"  
  
"This isn't going to work! If we send Frodo on alone he could stop the horse anytime!"  
  
"One of us go with him!"  
  
"I will."  
  
"I think I'm faster!"  
  
Chan turned to Diana.  
  
"They just *had* to start arguing at a time like this."  
  
Sudden impulse seized Diana.  
  
"Oh for God's sake I'll do it! I'll probably go faster then the both of you seeing as you'll spend more time arguing!"  
  
Aragorn and Glorfindel looked as if she had just said she was going to take on a cave troll.  
  
"You?!"  
  
"Sure you can even *ride*?"  
  
The only answer Aragorn got was a kick as Diana, in the absence of a suitable mounting block, decided to use the Ranger instead.  
  
"Damn idiot!"  
  
But Diana had already wheeled the horse around and kicked him into a gallop.  
  
"So long and take your time!"  
  
Glorfindel and Aragorn stood dumbfounded for a moment, then took off down the road.  
  
"To the ford! We can at least cut them off there!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Several metres down the road, Diana was, in fact, enjoying herself. If what Tolkien wrote was indeed true, then the large pale grey animal beneath her could easily outrun the Black Riders, and she could simply enjoy being back on a horse again.  
  
She shortened the rein and jumped a log into the woods as she saw the first Black Rider thundering down the road like a bulldoazer on hooves. Sheesh. They were so noisy, they were hard to miss.  
  
"Darn!"  
  
Another two Riders leapt out from the bushes ahead. Diana made a tight turn and took the risk of riding Asfaloth straight past the noses of the astonished animals. Jumping a hedge that was in the way, she doubled back to the main road and spurred Asfaloth down the last lap of the road. Another Rider dashed out from the bushes. Dodge, turn, swerve. Frodo had simply clung to Asfaloth's mane the whole time.  
  
The ford was approaching. Spray flew up as the horse leaped in. They were halfway across, reaching the bank, up the steep enbankment, out!  
  
Triumphantly, Diana turned Asfaloth to face the Nine on the other side of the water. Loud hisses. Asfaloth reared up in fear.  
  
The Witch-King rode into the water. Diana settled back to watch the show. When all nine were in, the flood was released with a bang. The violent waters made quick work of the Ringwraiths.  
  
Once the waters cleared, Glorfindel and co. were standing aghast on the other side.  
  
"What's taking you so long? Get across!"  
  
Diana dismounted as the rest came wading over.  
  
"Mister Frodoooooo!"  
  
The girls rolled their eyes and Polinn promptly started a water fight in the Bruinen, with all nine girls against Sam. Glorfindel quickly solved his own problem by making himself scarce. He took over Asfaloth, and rode away down the road with Frodo. Aragorn was left to control the rest. Now Merry and Pippin had joined in, going to Sam's side.  
  
"All right, break it up!"  
  
Aragorn's reply was a nice, round smooth river rock to the face and a long cold shower.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Back at Rivendell, Gwen and Pris were startled by the arrival of a horse in the courtyard. The harness bells rand shrill, the hooves thudded hard and fast, as if the rider had great need of speed.  
  
Rushing to the window, they saw the very same rider from four days ago come careening into the courtyard of Imladris. Elrond came rushing out to greet him.  
  
"Did you do it?'  
  
"Yes, Lord, but the Witch-King got him. He's fading fast."  
  
"Bring him in, I'll go get Mithrandir."  
  
Servants led the horse away as the two elves disappeared back into the house.  
  
"It's Frodo!"  
  
"Then the other elf is Glorfindel!"  
  
Pris looked nervously over her shoulder as if expecting a rabid Polinn to appear at her shoulder at the mention of her favourite elf.  
  
"Imagine if Pofo was here."  
  
"There's no need to."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because she is."  
  
Gwen was looking out the large window at yet another party come striding onto the courtyard.  
  
There was no mistaking Polinn's insanely long braid. Or Silei's tall, lanky stature. Or Claire's brownish, curled locks.  
  
The duo made straight for the stairs once Pris had managed to convince herself the ivy outside the window wasn't exactly strong enough to bear her weight.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Darn. The stupid keyboard won't type the letters with dots and dashes on top. *Whacks keyboard with Silei's photocopied appendices* *sorry, Si!* *Runs off* 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
Disclaimer: Recognisable stuff *yawn* is Tolkien's *snore* ....  
  
Blah. No comments yet.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sopping wet, the six children who had been with Glorfindel came striding into Imladris when two more-or-less familiar figures rushed out at them.  
  
"Look it's a tilapia run!"  
  
"Look it's a tadpole run!" [A/N: Remember?]  
  
"Gwen? Pris? What are you doing here?"  
  
"We could ask you the same question!"  
  
Aragorn cut and ran into the building. Entering a chamber, he found Elrond.  
  
"Ada? I see Glorfindel made it back in time."  
  
"Only just. He was beginning to fade."  
  
"Gandalf! You're here!"  
  
"Arrived yesterday."  
  
"What kept you?"  
  
"It's a long tale. Let's have yours first. I know well enough that if Aragorn comes running to find his father first and not seek out Evenstar then there is an important tale to tell."  
  
Aragorn turned crimson, then related the story of Glorfindel and the girls and their familiarity with the other two. Elrond looked up sharply.  
  
"How many were there?"  
  
"Six. I left them down in the courtyard."  
  
"Have them brought to my study. This is important. I'll see them once I'm done with Frodo. Glorfindel, be so good as to see to them, will you?"  
  
The rest of the colour drained off the elf's already pale face.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara grinned. They were finally out of the snow, allowing for greater mobility for her. Legolas did not share her elation. Twenty death threats he had made to her already, and none had come even one step closer to being fulfilled. Sara was always ready with more smart-alec retorts and comments. At least there were only two more days to Rivendell. Two loooong, loooong days.  
  
Turning back, he called to Sara, "Hurry up!"  
  
"Why? The weather's fine, so many little birdies to watch, all the nice flowers to pick...."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In Rivendell, the main group of girls were turning Elrond's study upside down. Polinn, Shuwen, and Diana, being the three who normally tried to get the teachers reading LOTR (and failing quite miserably), were helping themselves to the tantalizing volumes on the shelves. Unfortunately, the volumes dealing with the earlier history of Middle Earth were on the....less accessible shelves, that, it was clear, even an elf needed a chair to reach. They were soon joined by Silei, a more recent LOTR fan.  
  
If this sounded harmless enough, the scramble for the books had made a whole shelf tip over its burden onto the floor, the books knocking over (and breaking) a large overstuffed armchair with their combined weight and potential energy that had been converted into kinetic energy by falling off a height of roughly two metres. [A/N: stupid Science worksheet]  
  
Meanwhile, Inez was playing cards with Gwen. Evidently, the pack had been in her pocket when they were whisked away. Pris and Claire sniggered away from the sidelines. There was a lot of cursing on their part. Guess why.  
  
A matter of hours later, Elrond reentered his study. To find a whole shelf broken, his precious volumes scattered over the floor, his chair broken, and a pack of cards which Gwen had, in frustration, thrown into the grate. Glorfindel had long fled.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Damndamndamndamn. Stupid parents blocked access to the com. Says I should spend more time with that annoying sister of mine. Fat hope. That egocentric little git. I think posting this is going to fall behind schedule. 


	8. Merger

Chapter 8: Merger  
  
Disclaimer: I give up with this bloody thing.  
  
This is probably the longest chapter on record. Erestor makes his first appearance.  
  
Gwen, I find your lack of faith.......*disturbing*  
  
It's not as if I would forget you, just that your scream is one of your most memorable points. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Later that night the girls had been given rooms, so as to spare Elrond's study. Glorfindel and Erestor had been placed in charge of them. It was not an enviable task. Inez kept loudly going on about how Erestor resembled Lara Flynn Boyle, making Polinn hit her on the head with the annals she was reading. In a distant corner, Diana, Silei, and Shuwen were bent over three volumes. However, they did not look like they were reading. There would be sudden bursts of giggles from the three of them, making the two unfortunate elves very disquieted indeed. Gwen, Pris, and Claire had decided to make themselves scarce. They knew the other five well enough.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
At last! Rivendell was within sight. Half a day's quick march lay between Legolas and Sara and their goal.  
  
Sara grinned evilly. All those nice, pointy-eared elves with long hair...... It was paradise for her, elf-torture extraordinaire. Thinking back to the days she had been in primary six, she had been part of the gang that just loved to torture elves, *especially* Legolas, Arwen, and with the exception of Polinn, Glorfindel. Sometimes poor Erestor and Elrond got some of it too. Unfortunately, back then it had all been limited to pictures, coloured pens, and an extremely useful program called Adobe Photoshop. It seemed some first hand experience was coming up.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elrond had decided to send the eight girls out with Glorfindel's hunting party for the day, to spare the priceless artefacts of Rivendell from destruction. He did, however, have a hidden goal - to teach them to ride. They would be needing the skill in the near future.  
  
As the party disappeared through the stable doors, the lord of Imladris turned back to an ancient scroll on his table, to re-read it. Yes the girls fit the description. It seemed they really were the ones the Valar had long ages ago chosen for this task. He sighed. As if they could do it. They were more liable to be able to march up to Barad-Dur and invite Sauron to tea. And to think Middle Earth was depending on them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ooh! So big!"  
  
"They're *huge*!"  
  
There were exclaimations of delight (and horror) as the children were introduced to their mounts.  
  
For Polinn, a neat well tempered light grey, a little on the tall side. For Shuwen, a smart dun with sandy coat and black mane and tail. Inez had a smaller animal, a strawberry roan. Silei, too, had a roan - no pink thank you, it was blue - a very tall creature to fit her stature. Gwen was given a creamy pony, to Pris, a dapple grey, both steady and sweet-tempered. Seeing as Diana had had previous experience, they brought to her a fiery large storm grey. Finally, to Claire they gave a small palamino, quiet and pert.  
  
"Come on! The day grows old." Erestor called over his shoulder.  
  
"Can't"  
  
"Can't you see we don't even know how to *get on*?!!"  
  
Erestor gave Glorfindel a *look*.  
  
"You were saying?"  
  
Sighs. This was such a hopeless lot indeed. Claire's pony looked puzzled as to why its rider kept backing away from it. The others were at a loss as to what to do. Only Polinn and Diana actually knew you had to let down the stirrups and make sure the saddles were squarely on. It took a full hour to teach the rest about adjusting the stirrups and tighten the girth, then to convince Claire the pony was only there to bear her and not to eat her, as she seemed to think. Next followed a half hour for them to get used to mounting and dismounting, by the end of which Glorfindel and Erestor were suffering from more than their fair share of bruises caused by the ......less patient horses. The decision had, of course, been earlier made to send the main party on first.  
  
But *finally* they were on their way out of the yard and into the woods. Diana sighed and rolled her eyes as Claire complained about the horse's "unsettling rocking motion". They were going at the slowest possible speed! To her, that is.  
  
Suddenly Glorfindel caught sight of the main party up ahead, hard on the tails of a herd of deer. Erestor spurred his horse on after the fleet- footed animals.  
  
"Hey, Fo! I thought Sara aid you had some riding experience?"  
  
Polinn quickly cottoned on.  
  
"To the front! Cut them off!"  
  
Diana kicked the large storm grey onto a gallop. With Polinn following suit. The two made for the front of the front of the herd, rounding the deer to the approaching hunters, who quickly brought down two bucks. Erestor signalled it was enough, and grinning widely, they trotted back to their friends.  
  
"Not bad!" Glorfindel had said grudgingly, and now Diana was sniggering with her cronies Gwen and Pris at the way Polinn was floating along at the praise from her favourite elf.  
  
Then as they rounded the bend they could make out two figures headed towards them. One tall, one short, blonde, dark haired. The taller had a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder, the shorter in a NY uniform, muddied and dirtied. Even from the distance the girls recognised the shorter one.  
  
"Sara Adam Ang!"  
  
Sara looked up in surprise, then sprinted the rest of the distance as they came riding up. Her mouth formed a silent "wow", then she threw herself at Diana and Polinn as they swung off their mounts.  
  
An elf called out to the other, "Mae govennen, Legolas Thranduilion!"  
  
Glorfindel, poor, poor Glorfindel, looked ready to cry.  
  
So the party continued on, with Inez riding with Claire, since both were relatively new to horseback, and Sara grinning swung up on the strawberry roan. Erestor was taking great care to stay at the front of the column, Glorfindel and Legolas, who was mounted on the packhorse they had brought along, were trailing five metres behind. They were holding a worried discussion, which, it was easy to guess what the subject was.  
  
"One more? This will be the death of me."  
  
"I have already died a thousand times."  
  
"And Lord Elrond insists they are here on an appointed mission."  
  
"I wonder what."  
  
"I can guess. To chase all the elves to the havens?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Midday. The party decided to stop for lunch. Sara and Diana were discussing the finer points of stuntriding.  
  
"Oh, can you do the one when you ride the horse standing up?"  
  
"Easy. We did that during camp. Two horses as well. Can you jump them?"  
  
"I guess. One horse only, though."  
  
"Ooh, there's a nice tempting fallen tree ahead...."  
  
"Tame old piece of wood. Shall we?"  
  
"I see no problem. One.....two....THREE!"  
  
The duo took off down the road, raising up a dust cloud as they made for a wide log lying across the road.  
  
"Wheee!" Sara could not resist a yell as they sailed over the jump. Then Diana executed a sharp turn and called out to Sara.  
  
"Standing up can you take on that log?"  
  
"Brilliant! A dare!"  
  
They backed up the horses, then stood up. Sara exchanged looks with Diana.  
  
"Ready....."  
  
Glorfindel burried his head in his hands.  
  
"Get set...."  
  
The children were squirming with excitement. Erestor and the others, though, were busy laying out lunch. Unfortunately, the spot chosen was right along the landing path of the two horses behind the log.....  
  
"GO!"  
  
"Erestor look -----"  
  
"Erestor drego!" (Run!)  
  
Thud thud thud went the hooves, silence as they lifted off........  
  
Erestor had been readying the food when first a steel grey, then a strawberry roan landed, their hooves barely missing his head, and sent sand, muck, and dust spraying over his robed and his hair. *And* the basket that was their lunch. The girls tried to pull back their mounts, Sara loosing her grip and balance at this rough landing fell sideways onto Diana, Diana plunged off onto Elrond's chief counseller, and Erestor fell into the food in a shower of sand.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Bwahahahaha... Personally that was my favourite chapter so far. 


	9. Curry

Chapter 9: Curry  
  
Disclaimer: I kowtow to Tolkien. Satisfied?  
  
Some more memories crop up. In case you haven't noticed, we used a lot of old memories in here.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
So they had fish(ssssss....) for lunch, and venison. And so they would have to kill some more deer. Not that Sara or Diana were complaining, nor Polinn.  
  
By the end of the day they had brought down three more young bucks, and Sara and Diana had succeeded in teaching the rest to post. The party wound its way down the wooded paths back to Imladris.  
  
Gwen and Pris rode up to join the conversation that was going on between Diana and Sara. Erestor gave them a sour look. He still had sand in his hair, made all the more obvious because of its dark colour.  
  
"Elrond will sooooo kill us."  
  
"So," Sara grinned. "If we're going to die *anyway*.........."  
  
"It doesn't matter how soon or how far into the future!" Pris finished.  
  
"Lemme see......." Gwen mused.  
  
"Oh! I got one!" Shuwen joined in. "We could introduce them to nice, spicy *Indian* curry!"  
  
"I liked green better."  
  
"'Taint be *hot* enough!"  
  
"It's bad enough for us." Shuwen sniggered. "I wonder how sharp senses take it......"  
  
[A/N: To those of you unfamiliar with curry, there are three main types - green, or Thai curry, Malay curry, and the worst of the lot, Indian curry. Don't ask me but Indians seem to have an extraordinary resistance and liking for spicy stuff.]  
  
Later that night during dinner, the nine children staggered out of the kitchen with a huge steaming cauldron of bubbling red-yellow liquid.  
  
Setting it reverently on the table, Silei turned to the elves.  
  
"This, my good elves, is curry, a popular food from our world. *Enjoy*....."  
  
Then the girls helped themselves, leaving the elves wavering whether they should try. The curry fragrance wafted temptingly through the room, sweet and spicy.  
  
Lindir cast it a dubious look.  
  
"Heru-nin, are you positively sure it's safe?"  
  
"If *they're* eating it, I do believe it is relatively un-poisoned."  
  
Inez sniggered.  
  
"We might be going suicidal, for all you know."  
  
From the far end of the table, both Erestor and Glorfindel paled. They had just been about to get some.  
  
Claire rolled her eyes.  
  
"Did you really take that? Even our teachers didn't fall for that one!"  
  
Her statement earned her loud glares from the others and several tugs on the ponytail.  
  
"Oops."  
  
That did it. Seeing there was no danger, Glorifindel filled his bowl and took a spoonful.  
  
Cough cough choke splutter gasp. The golden-haired elf reached for his glass......  
  
Keeping a straight face, Polinn turned to Shuwen.  
  
"How much powder *did* we put in anyway?"  
  
"As much as that stall vendor gave us last time."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"A bowlful. Why?"  
  
[A/N: The more curry powder, the worse it gets. Also, the less diluted, the worse.]  
  
Then there was a gasp from Glorfindel.  
  
"The wine's SALTY!!!!"  
  
That was the last straw. The girls fell over each other laughing. Glorfindel had to make a break fot the nearest toilet. Elrond hit his head hard on the table. The result was a hollow "clunk". That made the girls laugh even harder. Erestor decided it would be a good idea to leave before Elrond came round. He had a very good idea of his lord's temper. Lindir and the others took the example and vacated the room.  
  
Still gasping, the children cut and ran for the stables in unison.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yay, one whole free week to post like mad. 


	10. Discovery

Chapter 10  
  
Disclaimer: Tolkien owns the lot.  
  
Thanks for all the positive feedback, people!  
  
Pofo? Valar-sent? ROTFL!!!!!!! You know, that gave a nice ikkle mental picture of Fo in a nice long white *dress* with huge angel wings and a *halo* on her head, fluttering up to heaven and glowing just like Glorfy. :)  
  
*Er....why don't I just....disappear and leave you people to read, huh?*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Pris and Diana were spending the rest of the evening figuring how to handle charcoal and parchment. Seated in a corner of the stables, they watched the others as they got used to their mounts.  
  
"Ahrgh!"  
  
Pris let out a cry of frustration as the brittle charcoal stick broke yet again. She took up the drawing board, parchment, and pieces of stick, and angrily lobbed them away from her.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Glorfindel was caught unawares as he entered the stables by a load of objects come flying at his head.  
  
"Oops."  
  
Polinn sniggered.  
  
"Still alive, Glor?"  
  
"You show touching concern."  
  
"Sheesh. But I thought it was you who told Legs that if he valued his life he'd stay away from us?"  
  
"Duty beckons. Lord Elrond wants to see you *all*."  
  
"Uh-oh......"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nine sheepish-looking girls were ushered into Elrond's study. The lord of Imaldris looked up from a battered, crumbling scroll on his table, then nodded to Glorfindel to leave them alone awhile. As the elf exited quickly, Shuwen gulped as Elrond drew all the curtains and closed all the surrounding doors to the circular room.  
  
"We are soooo dead."  
  
"I'm never gonna eat curry again!"  
  
"What makes you think we'll still be alive to do so?"  
  
Elrond returned from shutting off their paths of escape.  
  
"Alright, this is a matter of utmost importance, not for laughter."  
  
"We were laughing?"  
  
"You *must* keep this a secret form all."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You're not going to kill us?"  
  
"I think that isn't needed."  
  
"Why the ---"  
  
They could have sworn Elrond was smirking, if not for the need to retain his already much-diminished dignity.  
  
"You know about the trouble that is currently threatening Middle Earth, do you not?"  
  
Inez, the most verbose of the gang, could barely get the words out.  
  
"The One ring? Sauron?"  
  
"Yes. The Fellowship of companions to be chosen?"  
  
"Yeah, the council's in two days time, if I got my dates right. I mean, Frodo's *supposed* to awaken tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken."  
  
"You wouldn't be mistaken, O walking Tolkien encyclopedia."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"You really are the ones. Have you wondered why you are nine gathered here?"  
  
"Gwen? Diana? You're supposed to be the ones aceing lit, you know."  
  
"God you people are slow. Nine people, nine Riders. Need I elaborate?"  
  
"Ooooh boy."  
  
"I think you get it. Nine of you to challenge the evil nine. I now will reveal that you were all chosen long ages ago for this task. The Valar chose you, and it is said each has a specific talent crucial to this task. But these you must discover by yourselves."  
  
"Oh that's a fat lot of help. Imagine I think I'm supposed to be the one finding the way out of stupid forests and it turns out I should have been the one drawing the Nazgul off and by the time we discover it we'd be dead or converted to speaking orc."  
  
"Believe."  
  
"Listen to the Guiness beer ad."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Alright, this one was kinda short cos we're going out to watch Oliver and we have to leave the house in fifteen minute's time so I gotta run. 


	11. Torture Kicks in!

Chapter 11  
  
Disclaimer: bah.  
  
This chapter goes movie verse. Well, we shifted the scene forward one day, tho.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The girls, after being dismissed, decided to hold a conference of their on out in a pavillion a fair distance away from the main building. It was a nice, peaceful place, surrounded by forest, with a small branch of the Bruinen flowing by. There was the smell of wild roses, honeysuckle, and lavender in the heavy night air. Somewhere in the woods, a bird called. All around was the faint, inescessant chirping of cicadas.  
  
Polinn and Shuwen set the lanterns they were carrying on the ornately carved stone table in the center of the pavillion. The others settled on the chairs or on the thick railings.  
  
"Wonderful." Silei sighed. "I just hate responsibility."  
  
"Challenge the evil nine. Huh, we'd most probably end up as mincemeat."  
  
"We'd need horses if we're going to outrun them."  
  
"I guess that's why Sara and Diana are here."  
  
"Yeah. To train the most hopeless lot of riders there ever was. The Valar will soon regret their choice."  
  
"I don't get it. What Middle Earth needed talents do we have anyway?"  
  
"Apart from elf-annoying...."  
  
Sara let out a soft cry as she spotted who had just passed through the trees nearby.  
  
"Look!"  
  
"Come on. I think some fun is in order before we end the night."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Aragorn and Arwen, having sneaked off, strode slowly through the moonlit forest hand in hand. They were making for a quiet little pool sprung from a stream that issued from the Bruinen. It was set in one of Rivendell's less crowded, less well-known places, so they were quite sure they would be granted some privacy.  
  
Mist arose from the pool's surface that was covered with water lilies. There was a primitive stone slab bridge across the water. Pushing aside the weeping willow strands that seemed to form a circular curtain around the place, Aragorn led his love out onto the bridge.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The girls peered through the trees.  
  
"Aww...... Lookie! Two star crossed lovers having some quiet time to pledge their love....." Shuwen sniggered.  
  
"Would you *giggle* just *snort* listen to *snigger* what they're saying?!"  
  
Polinn, who knew Elvish, caught their words and translated for her friends.  
  
".....Renech I lu I erui govennen?......"  
  
"Do you remember when we first met?"  
  
"Aw. Sweet memories."  
  
"......Nauthannen I ned ol reniannen......"  
  
"I *snort* thought I had strayed into a dream."  
  
"We're having nightmares."  
  
"......Gwenin in enninath. U-arnech in naeth I si celich......"  
  
"Long years have passed. You do not have the cares you carry now."  
  
"Duh. Living thing can *change*! See? I learned my science!"  
  
".......Renech I beth I pennen?......"  
  
"Do you remember what I told you? Who doesn't? You announced it for the whole world to know."  
  
"Ewww! Don't look!"  
  
Aragorn ran his fingers over the pendant on Arwen's neck. The girls fake- vommited into the bushes.  
  
".....You said you'd bind yourself to me. Forsaking the immortal life of your people....."  
  
"......And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone......."  
  
The girls, suppressing laughing fits, mouthed the next few words along with them.  
  
"......I. Choose. A. Mortal. Life......"  
  
"....You cannot give me this!......."  
  
More sniggers and giggles.  
  
"........It is mine to give to who I will........Like my heart......"  
  
"Uh-oh."  
  
Then the girls cringed and turned away as the looog, looong kiss came.  
  
"Uhh....."  
  
"Aragorn an' Arwen, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I----"  
  
Diana had to duck a swipe from Shuwen.  
  
Sara grinned.  
  
"Blackmail, anyone?"  
  
There was a mini stampede as they rushed back to their rooms, leaving the lanterns behind on the table. Who cared?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
All Aragorn and Arwen dialouge is from the movie. 


	12. Blackmail

Chapter 12  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not yours. The lyrics used later are copyright Enya.  
  
Fo, if I have less outside readers than you, that only means I get to use more *personal* stuff in this fic.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"*Giggle* That soundtrack is so useful." Silei sniggered.  
  
"You can say that again."  
  
"This'll give 'em a nasty shock."  
  
The nine children were gathered in their shared living room. A sheet of parchment lay on the small table before the fireplace. There was a bottle of ink, bits of shorn-off quill nibs, several inkblots over the tablecloth, a pile of charcoal sticks, and a pile of charcoal stick bits. On the parchment, Diana, most familiar with using pen nibs, had scribed the lyrics of the theme for "Aragorn and Arwen", which also could be found in the Fellowship soundtrack:  
  
O mor henion I dhu  
  
Ely siriar, el sila  
  
Ai! Aniron Undomiel  
  
Tiro! El eria e mor  
  
I lir en el luitha uren  
  
Ai! Aniron...  
  
[A/N: The stupid keyboard will not cooperate and type out the nice special letters.]  
  
Beneath the lyrics, Pris, always the artist, had drawn a near-perfect replica of just now's scene, however, emphasizing the smooching.  
  
"Wonderful."  
  
"Let's leave it somewhere."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning, Aragorn got a rude awakening when he saw a sheet of parchment tacked to the wall right outside his room so that he walked straight into it.  
  
He ran straight to Arwen, and dragged her, half-asleep and half-dressed, to his room.  
  
"Oh, Eru.... How would anyone have known? Apart from us only the longtime residents of Rivendell know that place exists."  
  
"Not anymore....."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Glorfindel was worried. Very worried. Rivendell was all too quiet. Normally this quietness he would have relished, but now with the girls on the loose.......  
  
He and Erestor had searched the entire building. No sign of them. Then Erestor had discovered that their horses were missing from the stables. Nine amateur riders who were weaponless made easy orc-prey. *And* they were his responsibility. Elrond was so going to kill him. He had been warned not to let the girls leave the grounds.  
  
"Erestor! Get your horse! We'll have to go after them!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In reality the girls were no more than an hour away from Rivendell. They had discovered a large flat expanse of pasture that had been trampled by iron-shod feet several times already. It was a good guess this was where the horses were let out to graze, and Sara and Diana had decided this would make a good place to knock the others into shape. The field stank a little, they guessed it was from the excretion of the animals. Earlier that morn, Sara had picked out a black horse to carry her, quite like Diana's in both build and temperament.  
  
The others picked up quickly and pretty well, considering some had never been near a horse before that. But Claire.......  
  
"Claire! Your rein's too loose! A thousand times I told you the reins are your telephone line to the horse! If they're too loose it won't obey!"  
  
"But he keeps yanking them out of my hands!"  
  
"You're not supposed to let him! Pull back!"  
  
Silei rolled her eyes.  
  
"We're not going to get anywhere at this rate."  
  
"I never liked this field from the start and I wanna get out of here as fast as possible."  
  
"You never had anything against this field earlier on."  
  
"I just feel I don't like it, that's all."  
  
"You're acting weird, Nez. But fine, I have to agree this place smells. Let's go back, we can set out some jumps in the stable yard. We'll tail- rope Claire's pony behind Gwen's, since it's probably the best behaved of the lot. Claire, just try to pick up and stop telling yourself the animal's going to throw you!"  
  
"One problem. Who brought rope?"  
  
"No one."  
  
"Diana....I guess you can ride holding on to the mane, right?" Sara called in a singsong voice.  
  
"There go my reins."  
  
So before long the party wound its way out of the field, Claire's palamino roped to Gwen's creamy's tail. They went in Indian file, Diana in the lead and Sara, now unofficially Diana's second-in-command when it came to riding, bringing up the rear.  
  
"Hey look......"  
  
They stopped. Up ahead were two white stallions. One was easily recognizable as Asfaloth. Glorfindel was bent over, examining their tracks.  
  
"Shhh..."  
  
"Over protective gits."  
  
"What'd you say we give them a little shock?"  
  
"Let's head back and let them search all day."  
  
"We'll cover the tracks."  
  
Polinn, Shuwen, and Inez dismounted, and, seizing some branches, began destroying their tracks as best as they could. Diana, Silei, and Sara led their horses on ahead. With their soft laughter and the dull clop of several hooves, the girls failed to notice a harsh voice and the sounds of iron-shod feet moving as quietly as possible through the underbrush......  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You people can wait a nice long while for the next chapter. There are a few problems coming up so this will probably take about a week to a half. 


	13. Orc Attack

Chapter 13: Orc Attack  
  
Sorry, Shu! I honestly wasn't thinking about your curry episode, just that Sara was telling me about this Little India fieldtrip you guys had, and that reminded me about last year's trip *grinz evilly*  
  
Wow, it didn't take half as long as expected to straighten things out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There was a loud clash of metal, then several orcs leapt out of the surrounding bushes. There was a momentary pause. Silei broke it.  
  
"Run!"  
  
Diana drew her penknife and slashed the reins that held Claire's pony to Gwen's. Sara leant over and slapped the pony on the rump, sending it galloping away into the forest.  
  
"Gwen! Pris! Go after Claire! See that you make it back to Rivendell!"  
  
"Nez, you too!"  
  
The remaining five tried to flee after the four, but by then the orcs had already cottoned on in their little pig-brains. Within seconds they had been ringed in.  
  
"Oh boy."  
  
There was another long pause, then the orcs moved in for the kill. The girls had to defend themselves as best as they could. With their penknives. Puny three-inch-long knives, which were the maximum length of a pocket blade allowed by the Singapore government (PAP, or pay-and-pay). Up against orc-scimitars, two feet long.  
  
Diana reared her horse up, letting it strike out at orcs with the hard hooves. Polinn, Shuwen, and Sara drew penknives and slashed off as much as they could from the orc claws headed toards them. Silei lashed out kicking at the orcs.  
  
"Ten deflected, at least thirty more to go." Polinn muttered, doing a quick estimate. At least this was possibly only a raiding party, and there weren't too many. Sara then came up with a novel way to kill orcs, or at least to knock them out. She hurriedly undid the leather belt, then used the end with the buckle to attack the orcs. Diana followed her example. Her knife had long ago snapped., and the other's were close to doing so.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Meanwhile, the luckier four that had escaped made for where they had last seen Glorfindel and Erestor. They were gone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Already the girls were starting to tire. And they were not totally unscathed either. They all had their fair share of various cuts and bruises, and *all* the knives were snapped. It was clear they wouldn't' last much longer.  
  
Shuwen took a deep breath.  
  
"GLORFINDEL! ERESTOR! YRCH!"  
  
From a distance there came an answering call, though unfortunately not from who they needed.  
  
"It's Gwen!"  
  
Minutes later Gwen and Inez burst in to join the fray.  
  
"We sent Pris 'n' Claire to look for them. *whack*"  
  
"What?! *kick* They're not there?"  
  
"Die, I say, DIE."  
  
The orcs just wouldn't give in. The girls definitely could not hope to kill, just knock out or stun. And that proved quite useless against the helms, however crude, on the orcs' heads.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Glorfindel, lasto!" (listen)  
  
"The girls!"  
  
Erestor turned in the direction of the calls, and galloped off, his sword drawn. Glorfindel followed, cursing savagely in Elvish.  
  
"Why, oh *why* did we leave so fast? I thought we could have found them there."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Pris and Claire had picked up the elves' trail. They were going as quickly as possible. Their friend depended on it.  
  
"Up ahead!"  
  
Pris saw the flash of white that was Asfaloth disappear around the bend.  
  
"Wait for us!!!"  
  
The two turned around. A look of surprise registered on Glorfindel's face.  
  
"How come you're here? Is this a hoax of yours *again*?"  
  
"We escaped! We were looking for you."  
  
"We have located your friends already. Come."  
  
The four rode on. Soon they came to the clearing where there had been battle. The clearing was empty.  
  
"The orcs took them!"  
  
They followed the trail left. It was not quite difficult to follow, considering the mess left behind. The small group rode hard and fast, hoping to get to the orc camp in time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Inevitably, the girls were brought down no matter how hard the fought. Now they were strung up in the middle of the makeshift orc camp. Very amusingly, Sara was actually *grinning*. Diana gave her a death glare.  
  
"You're not doing much good in hastening our deaths."  
  
"I'm not. I'm surveying the damage."  
  
They had to admit it was a good record for a first time fight: three knocked out and there were at least twelve deep wound they could see on the orcs.  
  
"Where on the whole of Middle Earth are they?"  
  
"No hope at all there."  
  
"Well, our horses might make it back alive and raise the alarm."  
  
"Hoi! Shuddup there, filthy little maggots."  
  
The orc guard aimed a kick at Inez, who the last remark had come from. Inez dodged it. The orc cursed. There was a string of cantonese from Diana, and the others were willing to stake their lives that she wasn't sating anything nice to the orc. Then the orc turned its attention to her, but he didn't get too far. Within minutes she had stared him down. Quite cowered, it decided to vent its frustration at not being able to subdue the captives on Shuwen. However, it hadn't raised the whip half an inch before Silei threw herself at it, and it fell to the ground with a heavy thud. That brought some other orcs running over.  
  
Suddenly there was the shrill shriek of speeding arrows. Two orcs keeled over dead. Erestor, Glorfindel, Pris, and Claire came bursting into the camp and the two elves went straight at the orcs. Pris and Claire rushed over to free their friends.  
  
Then, as if by some miracle, the horses came bursting trumpeting into the clearing.  
  
"Lassie come home!"  
  
"Wow, clever, aren't they."  
  
The girls mounted and returned to the attack with a will and a vengance.  
  
"Take *whack* that!"  
  
"Filthy maggot yourself."  
  
*Now* it wasn't long before the orcs turned tail and fled. Fifteen were dead. Erestor and Glorfindel looked a little shaken.  
  
"You shouldn't have run off like that!"  
  
"Shut up, *Mum*."  
  
"It's over, it's over, okay?"  
  
"It's not okay. There are orcs back in these woods. And those wounds need tending before you present yourselves at the feast tonight."  
  
"Bite me."  
  
Erestor was up ahead already.  
  
"Hurry! There are only three hours left before the Peredhil opens the feast."  
  
"So? We can pull it off in *half* an hour. Why would you need three hours? To apply makeup and plait your hair?"  
  
The elves did not reply and the party wound its way back to Imladris.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
This was definitely not much humor. *sigh* Not in the mood, just felt reaally in the mood to bash up some orc. 


	14. Of Lenses and Poems

Chapter 14: Of Contact lenses and Poems  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, not yours, not his, not hers. It's Tolkien's.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Glor I am not going to wear that *dress*!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"One. It's long. Two. It's red. Three. It's a dress. Four. NO I WILL NOT!"  
  
Glorfindel rolled his eyes, exasperated.  
  
"You are not going to present yourself at the feast so dressed!"  
  
He gestured to the torn, mudstained, and even slightly bloodied clothes Polinn was wearing.  
  
Then the doors flung open roughly and Diana stormed in followed by Silei and Pris, both in laughing fits. Gwen trailed a metre or so behind, watching the scene with interest.  
  
"You should have seen Erestor's face, Fo!" Silei laughed. "When it hit the door with a clack...."  
  
Pris continued the tale.  
  
"And came apart!"  
  
"And now the poor elf is searching for a needle in a big haystack!"  
  
"Two needles, actually."  
  
Polinn was bemused.  
  
"D, what exactly are those two going on about?"  
  
No response. Just one of Diana's worst glares, the type she usually saved for CSY, archenemy of the primary 6 GEPs (don't ask) of Raffles Girls' Primary, which was where they all came from. Polinn knew better than to ask again, so she turned to Gwen.  
  
"I have no idea! Honest!"  
  
So finally, they made Pris and Silei calm down enough to relate the tale to them, Glorfindel included.  
  
"Erestor saw one of our sketches on the table in D's room."  
  
"He went to see."  
  
"He picked it up."  
  
"He was absolutely fascinated by the sketch."  
  
"D's contact lens case was lying on the parchment."  
  
"It flew off!"  
  
"Hit the door!"  
  
"The porcelain smashed!"  
  
"The lenses landed on the carpet!" They finished with glee.  
  
"And now he has to find them or I think D's gonna kill him as *slowly* as possible....."  
  
[A/N: Based on a true incident so I know how hard it gets!!!! Poor Erestor....]  
  
Polinn and Gwen were, by this time, collapsed over the table in laughter. That earned Polinn a savage tug on the braid.  
  
"Hey! I need those contacts or my flimsy specs get knocked out of shape by you people!"  
  
"Your fault for being do fashion conscious and choosing those specs!"  
  
Gwen put on a wise-sage look.  
  
"Ah, Pofo, HongKong people are naturally *very* fashion conscious."  
  
Diana kicked her.  
  
Glorfindel was looking lost.  
  
"What on the whole of Aman are you talking about?!"  
  
"Nothing you need to worry your pretty braided head about."  
  
SLAM.  
  
Diana had made a point of exiting the room in a fine temper. Further down the corridor more doors banged.  
  
"Oh, great. Better get them all to evacuate the building or some poor being will get *mauled*."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Eventually by some miracle Erestor managed to find Diana's contacts amidst the thick carpet. Polinn had reached a compromise with Glorfindel to wear a plain white dress that did not trail the ground.  
  
Looking positively angelic, the girls took their seats. Up at the high table, the two elves breathed a sigh of relief. It *seemed* they had no intention to cause trouble. For the present.  
  
"Hmm...... It's the Hall of Fire next...."  
  
"Earendil."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They made it through dinner relatively trouble-free, much to the relief of the two elves. Then they went to the Hall of Fire. The girls seated themselves around a pillar and listened.  
  
"Hey look! Bilbo's there!"  
  
"And Glorfy."  
  
Quickly they made it over to join the audience. Bilbo was just starting.  
  
~*Switch POV*~  
  
Glorfindel, and a group of other elves, gathered around to listen to Bilbo's latest poem. Then he noticed the girls headed over. Oh boy. However, as the poem went on and no trouble occurred, he began to relax, listening to the voices reciting the poem. Then realization smacked him straight in the face. Voices?  
  
Bilbo's loud voice and a few softer ones. Polinn, Shuwen, and Diana, as well as Sara joining in on the bits that she knew! How did they know? This was supposed to be a poem made up just today, how could Bilbo have taught them? They knew it so well too.  
  
"......For ever still a herald on on an errand that should never rest To bear his shining lamp afar, The Flammifer of Westernesse."  
  
As the poem came to an end Glorfindel, out of curiosity, drew the Polinn and Shuwen aside.  
  
"How on earth did you learn that?"  
  
"A book."  
  
"Books? How can it be?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand, Glor."  
  
The conversation was abruptly cut short as Erestor's voice drifted over.  
  
"Maybe we should have our guests entertain us a little."  
  
The dark-haired elf motioned to the girls.  
  
"What the -"  
  
"*Entertain*!!!"  
  
Elrond's chief counseller smirked.  
  
"Payback is sweet."  
  
Silei could not resist.  
  
"Mibo orch," (Go kiss an orc)  
  
But by then the elflings had struck up with "We wanna guests to sing!" so it was going to be quite futile to attempt escape. The girls were dragged to the center of the group, leaving Glorfindel standing very confused, his question unanswered.  
  
The girls held a quick whispered conference.  
  
"Now what?!"  
  
"What *can* we do?"  
  
"Something we all know, I guess."  
  
"I don't really think they'd take to Battle of the Boiling Water..." [ A/N: It's a poem from the Taggerung by Brian Jacques, part of the Redwall series. It was also our favourite reciting poem on fieldtrips, sitting in the back of the bus annoying the teachers.]  
  
"The poem Gimli does in Moria? I mean, relatively short and easy."  
  
"Gwen, Pris, Nez, Claire, Silei, *and* Sara don't know it. It's only us three that actually do the memorising."  
  
"Good for us, then!" Sara grinned. "We can just sit back and listen to you people."  
  
Death glares and several tugs on the hair were what Sara got for opening her overly large mouth.  
  
"We're waiting....." Erestor called in a singsong voice. Diana, still rather mad at him, made a mental note to corner him and kill him later on.  
  
"The world was young, the mountains green No stain yet on the moon was seen No word were laid on stream or stone When Durin woke and walked alone...."  
  
Highly unsettled, his mind in a whirl, Glorfindel tried to collect his thoughts. It seemed the girls knew a lot more than showed. A flashback started playing across his mind.  
  
****  
  
".....You're searching for the four perian, right? And one of them has the bloody One ring? We can tell you more. Aragorn's with them, the one who bears the ring got stabbed by the Witch-King, all nine are thundering after them!......."  
  
****  
  
Then there was the overheard conversation from last night. He had overheard Diana and Shuwen discussing "Gondolin" and "Beren and Luthien" and something about "Angband". And they knew Elvish, as was seen from the *piece of parchment* stuck to the wall of Aragorn's room, and Silei's *remark* just now.  
  
How much did they know?......  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Argh. Crappy. My brain is currently hanging and unable to churn up anything good. All that homework we're getting. I shall leave the next chapter to Chan. 


	15. Spirits : Heavenly or otherwise

Chapter 15: Spirits, Heavenly or otherwise.  
  
Disclaimer: Blah.  
  
Yeah, I liked the previous chapter as well. It was *fun* imagining Fo in a dress.......  
  
*Er.......runs off*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Glorfindel tossed and turned in his bed, unable to get to sleep with all the questions weighing on his mind. Finally, he gave up. Slipping out of his room, he exited Rivendell and made for the woods outside. Reaching his favourite spot along a small stream, he seated himself on the soft grass. The elf gazed into the river, allowing himself to be mesmerized by the water flowing by like molten silver in the moonlight.  
  
Then there was a mysterious voice in his head.  
  
Glorfindel....  
  
Ulmo!  
  
My lord!  
  
It has been long.  
  
What would you desire of me, Heru-nin?  
  
You are uneasy tonight. Unusually so.  
  
My lord, the Peredhil has said the nine mortal children who are now here, the Valar chose them?  
  
Indeed.  
  
They are........ Not from this world or time, are they?  
  
No, Laure-fin. You wonder why they know that much, do you not?  
  
Yes.  
  
Even the Valar can only guess. It is supposed to have something to do with the time frame they come from. They were chosen due to their extensive knowledge of our world. Especially three of them. The three who most often are the ringleaders. They know a lot more about what is to come.  
  
Ah. That is.......very helpful. But they also know about the first age! I overheard then talking about it last night. How far back, or ahead, does their knowledge go?  
  
Even the wisest cannot tell. [A/N: He plagiarized that off Galadriel.]But they will be useful in times ahead.  
  
You could have chosen some with more manners!  
  
There were none others who fit the description as perfectly as they did. The first three have the greatest knowledge. Their other friends have the specific talents we needed. But you must be careful. The orc-attack earlier today, do you really think it was a coincidence the orcs were so close to Rivendell when the Dark Lord is, in fact, gathering his forces? They have more use than you seem to think, Glorfindel.  
  
Ahrgh. Very well.  
  
The voice faded away, and Glorfindel returned to reality. With a sigh, he pulled himself together, muttering something about annoying incooperative Valar who made very wrong choices. Finally, Glorfindel decided it would not do much good just sitting there. He got up and headed back to Rivendell.  
  
Making his way up the corridors, he passed the door to the girls' living room. A fire was still burning, and he could pick up two or three soft voices. It appeared they were still awake. Curious, the elf stopped to listen.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Diana had been in no mood at all for sleep that night. Picking up the book on her dressing table (which had been very badly abused with the amount of reading material piled on it), she went out to the living room.  
  
"Fo? You too?"  
  
Polinn looked up from her own book.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Decided finishing this was a better way to spend time than sleeping."  
  
"Me too."  
  
Diana dropped into a deep armchair and absorbed herself in the Fall of Gondolin. It was a bad choice. Within minutes Polinn was reading over her shoulder, whimpering because she had *purposely* turned to the page about Ecthelion drowning in the Fountain. That stopped, much to Diana's relief, when another door opened and Shuwen came in. Dryly, before Shuwen could express her surprise, Diana sighed.  
  
"Welcome to the pyjama party."  
  
"It's not that. Just that the stupid tree outside keeps attacking the curtains. It's awfully annoying and noisy with all those flapping curtains. What's more they're white."  
  
Polinn put on a hollow voice and rolled her eyes so that the whites showed.  
  
"Oh, El - rond! I'm Elros come back to haunt yoooo!" She sang. Irritably, Diana whacked her with the Fall of Gondolin.  
  
"Hoy!"  
  
Shuwen decided to change the subject before the two could kill each other.  
  
"Hmm.....You look like you'll be finishing this soon......."  
  
"So?"  
  
"You'd need another book......"  
  
"Fo, what is this (self-proclaimed) Woodbridge escapee going on about?"(Woodbridge is Singapore's biggest mental hospital)  
  
"Search me."  
  
"Where to start?"  
  
"Shu, JUST GET TO THE BLOODY FREAKIN' POINT, WILL YOU?!"  
  
"Yeah. The poor bush will die, the way you're beating about it."  
  
"Dare you to go get a book from the library without any lantern or source of light whatsoever. Furthermore it has to be from the corner shelf, the highest level."  
  
Diana grinned. Fun.  
  
"And what if we manage it?"  
  
She glanced over to Polinn. It seemed she didn't exactly share the same view.  
  
"You mean the darkest corner, the one with the two-and-a-half-metre-tall shelf?!"  
  
"Yep. Oh, and I forgot. No ladder provided."  
  
"Piece of cake."  
  
They put out the fire and Diana went to open the door. She opened it and walked out.....  
  
............straight into the back of a softly-glowing being. Her glasses fell off. Seeing as Diana could not see without the glasses, all she could make out in the gloom of the corridor was a fuzzy shape, glowing eerily in whatever moonlight made it into the space there.  
  
"GHOST!!!!!!!"  
  
Polinn and Shuwen pounded out just in time for Diana, backing away at a run, to ram into them. Polinn, busy replaiting her hair, did not see it coming. She fell onto Diana, Shu tripped over the two on the floor, the momentum carrying her over them to land atop the softly-glowing being. This had all happened in the short space of half a minute.  
  
*  
  
Glorfindel had tried to run off once he heard the girls headed out. Then Diana had walked right into him. He had been forced to double over when Diana kicked him, screaming "ghost", and then Shuwen had landed on his back. He fell onto Polinn and Diana, Shuwen scrambled madly off. Then she realized who it was.  
  
"Glor?!" She yelled incredulously.  
  
At this the two down on the floor stopped struggling. Polinn threw Glorfindel off her back. Diana, finally straightening up, felt around and found her glasses, which, by some strike of luck, had landed by the wall, out of harm's way.  
  
"All right. What on earth are you doing here?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Heehee. Glorfy is in for it......... 


	16. Prelude to the council of Elrond

Chapter 16: The Council of Elrond  
  
Disclaimer: Yi wu suo you. That's hanyu pinyin. In english, it basically means I got nothing.  
  
Er, Fo......It wasn't *exactly* copying. You had a *nice* Valar who gave *helpful* answers. This one was going Gandalf style. And as for the elvish, it doesn't matter cos we don't have the time yet to decipher it, but in the meantime *inserts a string of cantonese* and *inserts some more German* . Third lang has its advantages, Fo. Blode Affe. Oh wait, that's masculine. Fine. Dumme Vogel. Er......waaaaiiiit. *frantically flipping through German notebook* . *AMANDA WHAT DID YOU GIVE TO THE RABBIT FOR HIS LITTERBOX??!!!!!*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elrond could not help noticing something was amiss at breakfast the next day. Polinn, Shuwen, and Diana did not appear until mid-morning, and even then there was none of the banter and name-calling between them and Glorfindel. Diana simply sat down stiffly and hid herself from view with the latest book. Polinn, a little icy, pretended to be teaching Diana and Silei Elvish, but the lord of Imladris had a strong suspicion the discussion going on behind Diana's large leather-bound volume was anything but a lesson on languages. Shu took her seat next to Inez and Gwen, and appeared to be telling them about "something that happened last night".  
  
It was also noticed the nine girls left the table far quicker than was usual, and Glorfindel looked extremely glad to see them head out the hall. When they passed Glorfindel on the way out, it seemed Diana's nose was a little higher in the air than was usual, and Polinn, who normally would have jumped at the chance to start an argument, merely aimed a subtle kick at Glorfindel's chair.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Once out of the dining hall, Claire, sensing the brewing storm, decided to make herself scarce and disappeared to the library. Inez and Pris went with her, wanting no part in the inevitable. The others decided to go for a hack.  
  
"You guys wanna go for a swim in the Bruinen? The fair weather won't last, you know." Sara tried to lighten the mood. It worked for Shuwen.  
  
"Race you down to the river!"  
  
They took off through the trees to the Bruinen. Obviously, it was a close tie between Diana and Sara as they splashed into the water. Leaving the tack on the banks, Diana and Sara taught the others to ride bareback, reasoning that, due to the numerous plotlines of the same type on ff.net, they would definitely be joining the Fellowship, and therefore would have to travel light. It was nothing that could be called successful. Shuwen and Silei kept sliding off their horses into the water. Polinn was a little better off, but it was clear her horse's mane wasn't. Gwen stayed in the shallows, watching with interest.  
  
Then a dark-haired figure appeared in the hilltop.  
  
"There you are! We've been looking for you!"  
  
"You mean *you've* been looking. The *other one* is probably eavesdropping somewhere else."  
  
"There's to be a council in half an hour's time! You have to get back here right now!"  
  
"Coming, Grandad."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They made it to the large open-air balconey just in time. Still ignoring Glorfindel, they took their seats with Claire, Pris, and Inez. Elrond began.  
  
"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you have been called here to answer the threat of Mordor.........."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay, this is really short cos the next chapter will be awfully long (I mean, just imagine the council with two groups on bad terms, *then* the argument between Aragorn, Legolas, and Boromir, and the part where everyone jumps up in synchro and starts bickering.). I had to break it somewhere, you know. 


	17. The Council of Elrond part 1

Chapter 17: Council of Elrond part 1  
  
Disclaimer: There is a LOT of stuff here from the movie and the book, lines from the movie are copyright New Line Cinema and passages and chunks from the book copyright Tolkien.  
  
Yay! It's Good Friday weekend! So, finally this chapter got straightened out. It was too long for me to type in one go (I have school too, you know!) so it's been split into two parts. This is a very weird chapter, part movie, part book sequence. Be prepared to be mixed up; it might get a little confusing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor."  
  
Shuwen was mouthing along with Elrond, having memorized the entire movie sequence. Polinn and Inez were busy placing bets as to whether they would be joining the Fellowship. Claire sat prim and proper, listening intently, while Diana, Silei, Sara, Gwen, and Pris were caught up in some discussion of their own, presumably on hoe to best disrupt the Council.  
  
"Middle Earth stands upon the Brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate - this one doom. Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."  
  
Polinn silently "da-dum"-ed the Jaws theme as Frodo, in slow motion, walked up and *threw* thhe Ring onto the pedestal.  
  
BOOM.  
  
Then Boromir leapt up as is a giant-sized South-American porcupine had been shoved into his seat.  
  
"What the -"  
  
"Minus five points, m'dear."  
  
"In a dream I saw the Eastern sky brow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered. A voice was crying: your doom is near at hand. Isildur's bane is found."  
  
"Whatever it was that warned him, it either had a sore throat or was too lazy. Eight lines of poem reduced to.........*two sentences*"  
  
Boromir was approaching the pedestal, talking to himself, his hand outstretched, oblivious to the horrified staring eyes.  
  
"Isildur's bane......"  
  
"Possessed." Shuwen sighed. Gwen was desperately motioning to Elrond to stop Boromir before he could take the Ring for his own. The lord of Imladris was busy talking to Glorfindel and Erestor. Boromir continued advancing.  
  
"BOROMIR!!!" Polinn and Inez could not help it. Polinn threw herself at the man before he could get his itching hands on the Ring. Elrond spun round, shocked.  
  
"What -" Glorfindel tried to *rescue* Boromir. The other people in the council leapt up to take sides. Elrond cast a hopeless look at Gandalf. Then, just before a clash could occur.....  
  
"Ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg....."  
  
"Stupid Maia." Diana scowled. Everyone was frozen to the spot in fear. Well, nearly everyone. It appeared that the girls, having been expecting this, were relatively unaffected. Polinn was resisting the urge to punch Gandalf in the face to shut him up. Meanwhile, as the Shadow crept into the fair valley of Imladris, Shuwen, Inez, and Sara were singing "Yesterday". Or rather, they were bawling bar-room-style.  
  
"....Suddenleeeee......I'm not half the man I yoooosed to beeeeeee....There's a Shadow hangin' ooooover meeeeeeeee.....oh ah beleeve....in Yeesterdaaay......"  
  
Finally Gandalf finished his brilliante recitation. Pale and freaked-out, everyone resumed their seats.  
  
"Never before has anyone uttered the word of that tongue in Imladris, Gandalf the Grey. *However*, at least the rest of you are at last seeing some sense. Now can we discuss this in a more, *civilized* manner?"  
  
Two more for Diana's ever-growing death list.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Gloin started on his tale of Balin's return to Moria and the friendly visit of the Nazgul. When he was done, it was Elrond's turn to speak his piece on the Rings of power. It appeared a lot of the council knew little of the story. Those who did knew only half of it.  
  
Polinn shook her head pityingly.  
  
"You're getting it all wrong!" she choked, when Elrond mentioned something about Celebrimbor having a part in the making of the One Ring.  
  
"Then you can tell us." Elrond said scathingly.  
  
"Definitely!"  
  
Elrond's look of "she's mad" soon became replaced by one of surprise and disbelief as Polinn, with minor corrections from Shuwen and Diana, related the entire story in a *far* more accurate version.  
  
"I told you so." muttered Glorfindel.  
  
Smirking, Polinn sat back down. Elrond had a wistful, dreamy look on his face.  
  
"I remember well the splendour of their banners. It recalled to me the glory of the Elder Days and the hosts of Beleriand, so many great princes and captains were assembled. And yet not so many, nor so fair, as when Thangdorim was broken, and the Elves deemed that evil was ended forever, and it was not so."  
  
"You - you remember?" Frodo stammered incredelously. "But how long ago was that?"  
  
"The last year of the Second Age, beginning of the Third."  
  
"And to think the Third age will end quite soon." Sara said cheerfully.  
  
Glorfindel rammed his head into the wall with frustration. Frodo gaped.  
  
"Duh Elrond *remembers*." Shuwen sighed. "He's seen three ages already."  
  
"Was the herald of Gil-galad too." Diana rolled her eyes at this (she considered) naivety. "He was right there when Isildur took the darned Ring, *and* was also unable to persuade Isildur to chuck it into Mount Doom, which is the main reason we see it here today."  
  
"Alas! Yes." Said Elrond. "Isildur took it, as should not have been. It should have been cast then into Orodruin's fire nigh at hand where it was made."  
  
Elrond continued with the tale of Isildur's being pincushioned and the history (his version, that is "they're all gonna die") of the rest of Isildur's heirs and of Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul, for the benefit of those that did not know the tale in full.  
  
"This is worse than assembly." Shuwen moaned.  
  
By the time Elrond had reached "the One has been found" the nine girls were all asleep.  
  
Then once Elrond was done Boromir leapt up again.  
  
"Give me leave, Master Elrond, to relate my tale in full, to say more of Gondor, for verily from the land of Gondor I am come. And it would be well for all to know what passes there, for few, I deem, know of our deeds, and therefore guess little of their peril, if we should fail at last."  
  
Sara could be heard in a stage whisper, "Self praise is a great disgrace."  
  
Pris added to that, "Oft the greatest deeds go unsung."  
  
Boromir tried to pretend he hadn't heard that.  
  
"Believe not that in the land of Gondor the blood of Numeanor is spent, nor all its pride and dignity forgotten. By our valour the wild folk of the East are kept at bay; and thus alone are peace and freedom mantained in the lands behind us, bulwark of the West. But if the passages of the River should be won, what then?"  
  
His gaze switched back to the Ring on the pedestal.  
  
"It is a gift, a gift to the foes of Mordor. Let us use it against them!"  
  
Boromir got cut short as Aragorn *finally* broke his silence.  
  
"You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone, it has no other master."  
  
Boromir turned on him.  
  
"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"  
  
"This is no mere Ranger!" Legolas cried, outraged. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."  
  
Boromir was taken aback.  
  
"This......is Isildur's heir?"  
  
If anything could have described the look on Boromir's face, it would have been the look of someone about to burst out into loud cartoon laughter, complete with rolling on the floor kicking the legs in the air. Fortunately, he restrained himself.  
  
"Isildur's heir?"  
  
"And heir to the throne of Gondor."  
  
Then it was Bilbo's turn to jump up. Gwen had a strong suspicion that someone had raided the local zoo and set loose all the porcupines and hedgehogs.  
  
"All that is gold does not glitter  
  
Not all those who wander are lost.  
  
The old that is strong does not wither Deep roots are not reached by the frost.  
  
From the ashes a fire shall be woken  
  
A light from the shadows will spring.  
  
Renewed shall be blade that was broken  
  
The crownless again shall be King.  
  
'Not very good perhaps, but to the point - if you need more beyond the word of Elrond. If that was worth a journey of a hundred and ten days to hear, you had best listen to it."  
  
"To the point my ass." Shuwen sniggered. Predictably came Diana's favourite reply to this phrase.  
  
"What's wrong with your ass."  
  
Aragorn gave a wry smile.  
  
"For my part I forgive your doubt. Little do I resemble the figures of Elendil and Isildur as they stand carven in their majesty in the halls of Denethor."  
  
"Yeah, at least they were clean-shaven."  
  
Aragorn turned the same shade as Elrond's (tasteless) maroon robes.  
  
"I am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself. I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys. I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, even into the far countries of Rhun and Harad where the stars are strange.  
  
But my home, such as I have, is in the North. For here the heirs of Valandil Have dwelt in long line unbroken from father to son for many generations. Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the sword has passed to a new keeper. And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I end. Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters - but hunters of the servants of the enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor only.  
  
If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we have played another part. Many evil things there are that your strong walls (several loud coughs) and bright swords (more hacks) do not stay. You know little of the lands beyond your bounds."  
  
There was laughter from the girls as Claire said something about a frog that lived at the bottom a well and thought that his world was very big, yet all that he could see was that little patch of sky above. [A/N: This is the literal translation of yet another Chinese proverb.]  
  
"Peace and freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little, but for us. Fear would have destroyed them. But when dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us. What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dunedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?  
  
And yet less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us, and countrymen give us scornful names. 'Strider' I am to one fat man who lives within a day's march of foes that would freeze his heart, or lay his little town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we would not have it otherwise. If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so. That has been the task of my kindred, while the years have lengthened and the grass has grown.  
  
But now the world is changing once again. A new hour comes. Isildur's bane is found. Battle is at hand. The Sword shall be reforged. I will come to Minas Tirith."  
  
Sighs from the girls.  
  
"He just *has* to talk heroic."  
  
"*Yawn*"  
  
Then Bilbo took his turn, telling the *new, revised* version of his story. Elrond had to cut his ramblings short, much to the relief of the girls.  
  
"Well told, my friend. But that is enough at this time. For the moment it suffices to know that the Ring passed to Frodo, your heir. Let him now speak."  
  
Bilbo looked robbed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Gotta go now. Part 2 *should* be up in......three weeks. 


	18. Council of Elrond part 2

So, finally, here it is:  
  
The Council of Elrond: Part 2  
  
Disclaimer: Said already lah  
  
A/N: It's advisable you read part 1 again first.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Now Frodo recounted his own story. Every single step of his journey from Hobbiton to Bruinen was questioned, and, to Silei and Diana, analysed just like one of those annoyingly morbid lit. pieces they had to do.  
  
Finally he sat back down.  
  
"Not bad," said Bilbo. "It would've made quite a good story. I tried to make a few notes, but we shall have to go over it again sometime. There are whole chapters of the stuff made up before you got here!"  
  
Sniggering, Shuwen jabbed her thumb at page after page of Diana and Pris's journal (or more accurately, flimsy folder of parchments that were more often covered in drawings rather than notes). The pages were filled with line after line of Diana's signature note-taking illegible scribbles (and several ink blots and doodles of what looked like "the EYE of Sauron" done LITERALLY).  
  
"Yes, it made quite a long tale. But the story still does not seem complete to me. I still want to know a great deal, especially about Gandalf."  
  
It was finally Galdor's turn to speak up.  
  
"You speak for me also! The Wise may have good reason to believe that the halfling's trove is indeed the great ring of long debate, unlikely though that may seem to those that know less."  
  
"Like you." Sara said bluntly, not bothering to keep the volume down.  
  
"But may we not hear the proofs? And I would ask this also. What of Saruman? He is learned in the lore of the Rings, yet he is not among us. What is his counsel - if he knows the things that we have heard?"  
  
"The questions you ask, Galdor, are bound together." Elrond replied. "I had not overlooked them, and they shall be answered. But these things it is the part of Gandalf to make clear; and I call upon him last, for it is the place of honour, and in all this matter he has been the chief."  
  
~*~  
  
[ Insert all that long-winded speech here. ]  
  
~*~  
  
"So now that everyone here has a better idea of the situation, we return once more to the destroying of the Ring. We have only two options. Either to destroy the Ring forever, or to send it over the Sea."  
  
"Well what are you waiting for?" Gimli grunted, heaving himself off the seat and raising his axe.  
  
BOOM.  
  
Gimli flew backwards as the axe shattered. In a stage whisper, Sara could (again) be heard.  
  
"See, listening properly can save you all that money for the chiropractor's bills."  
  
Elrond sighed for the umpteenth time that day and rolled his eyes.  
  
"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli son of Gloin, by any craft that we here posess. It was made in the fires of Mount Doom, only there can it be unmade."  
  
Erestor then suggested the Ring be taken to Bombadil.  
  
"Oh no. Not to that spastic..... *idiot*!" Shuwen groaned. "He'd probably lose it or *toy* with it, or worse!"  
  
"Precisely. I mean, going about all day singing nonsense and prancing about like he's got ants in his pants. Can't he act his age?"  
  
Amazingly Gandalf agreed with them.  
  
"He would not take the Ring. He might, it all the Free Peoples of the world begged him to, but he would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind; they have no power over him. He would be a most unsafe guardian."  
  
"But in any case, " sighed Glorfindel. "To send the Ring to him would only postpone the day of evil. He is far away. We could not take it back to him, unguessed, unmarked by any spy. And even if we could, soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of it's hiding place and would bend all his power towards it. Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone?"  
  
"That, " Silei remarked idly, "Is a rhectoral question."  
  
"I know little or Iarwain save the name," said Galdor. "But Glorfindel, I think, is right. Power to defy our enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself."  
  
"Ah stuff it!" Polinn grumbled. "Let's just summarise this. The Ring can't stay. It's got to go. Any volunteers?"  
  
"But can't it go to Valinor?"  
  
"Those who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: for good or evil it belongs to Middle Earth; it is for us that still dwell here to deal with it."  
  
Bloodthirsty Boromir was still confused.  
  
"I do not understand all this! Saruman is a traitor, but did he not have a glimpse of wisdom? Why do you speak ever of hiding and destroying? Why should we not think that the great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free lords of the Free may surely defeat the enemy! That is what he most fears, I deem.'  
  
'The men of Gondor are valiant, and they will never submit; but they may be beaten down. Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon. Let the Ring be your weapon, if it has such power as you say! Take it and go forth to victory!"  
  
Legolas shook his head pityingly.  
  
"Have you heard nothing of what Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"  
  
Oops. Big mistake. Up jumped Gimli.  
  
"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!"  
  
"And if it fails, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"  
  
"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!"  
  
It wasn't long before everyone else started leaping up to take sides. The girls decoded to sit and watch the show, waiting for Frodo to end the argument with his *famous last words*. They waited......  
  
.......and waited........  
  
And you people can wait cos I gotta run. Hey! It's a school night! 


	19. The Ring Goes South

Chapter 19 : The Ring Goes South  
  
Happy Birthday Gwen!!!!!! This chappie's 4 u.  
  
Disclaimer: bla bla yak yak.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It came.  
  
"I will take the ring to Mordor!"  
  
Blank stares. More stares. Jaws drop.  
  
"Though.....I do not know the way."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Fo, what *are* you doing?"  
  
"Making a countdown. I DON'T WANNA GO!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Shut *up*, Fo."  
  
"Actually, come to think of it, I can't actually believe we volunteered." Sara muttered.  
  
"Well it's done it's done. Let's just enjoy life first."  
  
"Ever so practical...." Diana murmured in a rather annoyed way.  
  
"Yeah.....Two more months in which our choice of victims has variety. After that we get limited to nine."  
  
"Last one to find Glorfy's a rotten egg!"  
  
*  
  
But Glorfindel and Erestor found them first.  
  
"The Peredhil says you need to find out the type of weapon best suited to you."  
  
There were several diabolical winks and nods, and the duo paled visibly. *However* they did manage to make it down to the archery range without anything more than the usual hair-pulling and tripping up. It seemed most of them had put the previous night's argument behind them. *Most* of them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"One, two, THREE!"  
  
Arrows twanged simultaneously off Diana's and Pris's bowstrings and into (big surprise) the air. Only this time they didn't reach the top of the tree. They flew for Glorfindel instead. The poor elf was getting frustrated. It didn't help his situation the two had rather decent aim for beginners. Sara soon joined them. She, however, preferred toying with a nice long glave, which she used to poke the speeding arrows into a more-or- less straight path towards Glorfindel. Then came the killer suggestion.  
  
"Let's try it from horseback!"  
  
~*~  
  
On the other side of the field, Polinn and Shuwen were trying desperately to decapitate each other with knives. Claire had decided to sit on the sidelines and watch as Gwen, Inez, and Silei turned practice into a "I- still-best-you-in-that-move" competition.  
  
Then there was the sound of thundering hooves and the shrill shriek of arrows from bowstrings and then Glorfindel let out a yell as two more arrows (blunted, *un*-fortunately) found their mark - on the rear end.  
  
"Whoo-hoo! Perfect hit!" Sara whooped jubliantly.  
  
The three exchanged high-fives. Polinn, Shuwen, and co. were beside themselves.  
  
"Oooh man, Glor, you shoulda seen your face!!!!!"  
  
"Tut, tut. If you keep your face there it'll stay like that!"  
  
"And you wonder how Elrond does the eyebrow of Doom. It got stuck like that!"  
  
Unfortunately the fun was cut short by a sudden downpour from up above. Grumbling and cursing, the girls made a mad scramble indoors. Diana, Sara, and Pris had to make a break for the stables, and returned to their rooms looking like someone had just pushed them down the Singapore river. (Water pollution!)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"Search me."  
  
"Where do I start?"  
  
"Well, there's a nice, *big* harp in the corner....."  
  
"My recorder's in my pocket. We were having music when we got warped, and then I left it in the drawer in my room."  
  
"Ooh! Look! The previous occupant left a box looking suspiciously like a violin case here! Diana....."  
  
The one in question stuck out her lower lip, but Polinn and Silei had already pulled the prettily painted case over and opened it. Diana turned around.  
  
"Oh my god....."  
  
The inside of the case was lined with blue velvet, brocaded with floral designs in silver thread. Silei drew back the covering cloth to reveal an antique instrument, the wood a sandy-brown, the varnish faded, yet the intricate ink designs drawn onto the soundbox could still be seen. And there were eight strings on the thing. Four that looked normal, and four thinner, inconspicuous strings beneath the main ones, ending in a scroll carved like a coiling fern leaf. Shuwen gave the string a pluck. Diana, Gwen, and all those who knew about tuning instruments winced.  
  
"It's damn out of tune."  
  
Silei had a good idea what the instrument was.  
  
"It's a hardinger, isn't it?"  
  
"You bet."  
  
Sorely tempted, Diana lifted the folk fiddle out of the casing and then the bow.  
  
"Cool, I've never handled sympathetic strings before...."  
  
~*~  
  
It was quiet. Too quiet for Glorfindel's liking. Or Erestor's. They sprang fleet footed up the staircase, expecting some scene of utter devastation and carnage......  
  
.......to be met by the strains of Canon, played on viol and recorder. As the music played up and down the scales to form a sweet melody with at least three different tunes running at the same time, blending, melding with each other, the elves poked their heads quietly around the door. Diana stood by the window with what looked like the old Viol, and Gwen sat nearby with a flute of strange make. [A/N: Yeah, *we* know it's a recorder and it's made of plastic, but *they* don't.]  
  
The duo stood there for a long time, listening. Then came "Race you to the library!". Glorfindel cut and ran, dragging Erestor away with him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Now to skip forward about two months.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was the night before they were due to depart from Rivendell. The girls were, for once, unusually quiet and subdued. A merry fire burned in the hearth, a complete opposite to their feelings. D and Pris were busy packing in their respective rooms. Polinn, Shuwen, and Inez, rarely apart, were slumped in armchairs in front of the fire, staring broodingly into the flames. Claire was absorbed in a book on the Geography of Middle Earth. Silei, always a little eccentric, was pacing on the balconey. Nothing wrong with that, apart form the fact that it was positively *pouring*. Sara and Gwen were nowhere to be seen.  
  
*  
  
Being bored, Gwen decided to pay Pris a visit. Walking into the room, she suddenly decided that, maybe she *shouldn't* be here. The room was a mess of parchment, books, ink, etcetc.  
  
"My, Pris."  
  
"Mmmmf....(a few more items fell out of the bookcase) I can't find the spare sketchbook!"  
  
With a smile Gwen decided it would be a better idea to retreat.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The whole household was up at first light the next morn. The stables were a hive of activity as the girls readied their mounts for the upcoming journey. With practised ease, Diana plaited the horses' manes and tacked them up along the broad necks to keep the hair out of the way. Sara gave the animals what would probably be the last decent grooming they would be getting in a while. Shuwen and a few others ran to and fro between the rooms, fetching the saddlebags, which they passed to Silei, and she slung them across the broad backs. Then just as the mounts were ready, Glorfindel came in.  
  
"Over here, the lot of you."  
  
Diana tethered Inez's strawberry roan and , with the others, came out of the block to a quiet corner behind the stables. The elf set the bundle he was carrying down on the tree stump they habitually used as a mounting block.  
  
"Some gifts from Elrond and the rest of us household of Rivendell. Weapons we think are best suited to you."  
  
He presented both Shuwen and Polinn with twin blades, intricately carven on the hilts of ivory. Single gems, sapphire and aquamarine, glittered as pommel stones; the blades shone with a cold light. Sara had a glave, and to Inez and Claire the fair haired Elf gave long daggers not unlike the twin blades he had just presented to their.......*more violent* friends. Diana and Pris were given bows of springy yew, with elegantly curving scrolls in the form of coiled ferns, and silver flowers were painted twining around the dark wood. With the bows went arrows, lighter than was normal, and easier for the smaller sized girls to handle, yet no less lethal. Silei, having proven her ability to handle the longer varieties of blade, received a sabre made of a light metal, with pommel stone of emerald and a dragon carven on the hilt. (There was a delighted cry of "Smaugie!" from her.) Gwen was given a blade in a smaller version of Silei's.  
  
"Come now." The elf commanded. "This will be the second last meal before the Fellowship departs. The company will set forth at dusk."  
  
The dining hall seemed cold and empty as they ate in silence. A sense of foreboding hung heavily on the cool autumn air, even in the fair valley of Imladris.  
  
After lunch they retired to their rooms, which now were empty and lifeless, and would probably remain so for a year and more afterwards. Diana sat on the broad balconey railing with Gwen and Pris, staring at the Bruinen flowing by on its never changing course. They were soon joined by the others, and they sat in silence, watching the sun speed on its way through the sky.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
WOW! New long-chapter record! 


	20. The continuation of the previous chapter...

Chapter 20 : continuation of the previous chapter  
  
Disclaimer: been there, done that.  
  
Okay, so the Ring didn't exactly go anywhere the previous chapter. My mistake. The com was getting rather sluggish due to long peorids of usage and so I decided it was safer to post first rather than risk the damned thing hanging halfway thru. And I think there be one more for the Smaugie virus.......  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"This is it." Shuwen muttered.  
  
They were huddled on the steps of the courtyard of Imladris; the Company, Glorfindel, and Bilbo. Glorfindel was conversing softly with Legolas in elvish. Polinn translated for those who still hadn't picked up enough in their stay at Rivendell.  
  
"I bid you good luck, and for once I am glad I will be staying out of the action. Somehow I think the coming journey will be very amusing indeed...."  
  
Legolas paled visibly. Sara and the others led the horses up into the yard. Sara and Pris were absorbed in a piece of parchment. They were reading it out softly to the others. The others looked pleased. Very pleased.  
  
Bilbo and Frodo were seated on a step. Aragorn sat on another, his head on his knees, and looking like almost everyone (apart from the prefects) did during the boring and pointless school assemblies they had each week. Sam stood by Bill, sucking his teeth; the pony swished his tale and cast baleful glances at the.......taller, *more graceful* relatives of his that the girls were riding, and shifted his weight noisily. Boromir was near invisible, standing in the shadows of the tall pillars. Gimli, short and squat, leaned against the arch.  
  
At that moment Elrond and Gandalf descended into the courtyard. The Company was gathered round.  
  
"This is my last word. The Ringbearer is setting out on the quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid, neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the enemy, nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in greatest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy it will be to withdraw, yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot forsee what each may meet upon the road.  
  
"Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens."  
  
"Maybe, but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall."  
  
"Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart."  
  
Sigh.  
  
"Look, cut the fancy phrases. I know another saying : The longer you tarry, the less the chances you will ever get started. Let's get going!"  
  
The Company turned out of the yard. The last they heard was Glorfindel calling to them, clearly, softly.  
  
"Farewell, and may the blessing of elves and men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine on your faces!"  
  
Slowly, slowly.......the dim figures of Elrond's household, waving goodbye, faded back into the dark, cold night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Five days on.  
  
The hobbits had struck up with "The Road Goes Ever On" yet *again*. Irritably, Shuwen made *another* notch into a stick she had found.  
  
"Shu, what's the tally?"  
  
"Three-hundred-and-fifty.......eight."  
  
"If I hear it One. More. Time. I will personally massacre them."  
  
Sara was next to join the club. It wasn't long before all nine, Claire included, were clustered around. Sometimes there was unity in strength.  
  
*  
  
Just as Sam, Merry, and Pippin reached "down from the door where it began" for the three-hundredth-and-sixty-third time, there was a loud interruption from behind.  
  
"Ooohh, dear, what can the matter be? Pi - pin was stuck up the lava'tree! Aaaalll, year, from cen'try to cen'try and no - body knew he was there!" [A/N: An old song of ours. Sung to the tune of "Oh dear, what can the matter be?" DUH right?]  
  
Pippin jumped, shocked, to be confronted by the gaggle of girls, laughing heartily. Diana and Sara were standing up in the saddle for the fun of it, so much for Aragorn and Legolas' yells for them to "come down before gravity makes you". Diana was highly, insulted, having learnt riding for some time and therefore more comfortable around horses than most of the others. But then it was time for their midday stop, and she *had* to come down.  
  
After the animals had been fed, watered, and turned loose to graze, the nine settled in a corner for a quiet discussion.  
  
"It's too quiet!" Sara muttered.  
  
"Good point."  
  
"What's for dinner?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay, gotta run. You can find out what dinner has to do with it being too quiet in the next chappie. Yeah.......in a month or so. 


	21. Confusion and Mayhem

Chapter 21: Much ado about the Sketches  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing.....  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sara rummaged deep in her bag. Out came a small barkcloth package.  
  
"Whazzat?" Polinn stared at Sara.  
  
"Shhh...." she hissed back. "Curry powder, extra hot!"  
  
*  
  
Aragorn left his watch to Gandalf, tired, hungry, and ready for some sleep. Throwing himself down by the miserable fire, Pippin passed him a bowl of stew. For some reason, the hobbits and the girls had both come over rather giggly. Gimli was swigging down water at an alarming rate, casting baleful glances at the stew bubbling merrily in its pot. Legolas did nothing except to excuse himself, with a smile playing around his lips.  
  
Aragorn took a bite.  
  
"What the ----!"  
  
"Tut, tut, minus another ten points."  
  
Keeping straightfaced, Silei turned to Inez.  
  
"What now? What did they do *this* time?"  
  
"Must have been due to long periods away from home... missing out on the spice of life, aren't they?"  
  
Then there was a loud "EEEEE" from the other side of the camp. Merry ran across, chased by an irate Diana, Shuwen, and Pris. Evidently, Merry had found their portfolio.  
  
"Look, Frodo! Bag End! And the Shire!"  
  
"Give those back you (Diana yelled something in a *foreign* language)!!!"  
  
Shuwen signalled to her. Then they went for the horses. Leaping up bareback, the trio quickly cornered the hobbit. Merry scurried out from under the animals, still impudently waving the drawings.  
  
Gwen and Inez decided to help out. The wronged three thundered after Merry and chased him straight into the waiting two. Pippin, too, decided to take sides, which led to the others deciding it was much more fun to take part in the action rather than watch. It wasn't long before an all-out war ensued, with the four hobbits against the nine girls. Silei and Polinn had just jointly grabbed Sam and were about to throw him somewhere when Gandalf stormed into their midst.  
  
"SILENCE YOU VILE BRATS!!!!!!"  
  
Then the Maia found himself staring into the nostrils of a large storm-grey stallion.  
  
"You were saying?" Diana growled.  
  
Shuwen, Diana, and Pris leapt off their mounts sulkily. Diana stormed over to Merry and yanked the parchments away from him while Pris gathered those strewn across the ground. Then came the second shriek.  
  
"They're RUINED!!!!!!"  
  
There was a loud rustling and then a smack as Diana threw the papers, ripped and smudged beyond repair, and now shredded even more, at the nearest being - Boromir.  
  
"Hey I was innocent! I wanted no part in this!"  
  
"Too BAD."  
  
Pris and Diana stalked off into the surrounding trees, muttering darkly among themselves about the stack that had taken approximately two and a half months, several ripped papers, and approximately twenty boxes of charcoal sticks to draw. The rest were just plain relieved that the best of their sketches were kept safely away in the bags that hardly left their sides. If *those* were ruined.......  
  
Shuwen was not as lucky.  
  
"MY ELLADAN AND ELROHIR PICTURE!!!!"  
  
"THAT ONE??!!"  
  
"MERIADOC BRANDYBUCK!!!!!!!!!"  
  
(Insert a looong, loooong string of *a certain few languages* here.)  
  
Diana and Shuwen lunged for the hobbit....  
  
.....to be grabbed and hauled back by "that interfering Maia and the Elf".  
  
"Let GO!" Diana yelled, kicking Legolas hard in the shins. Shuwen neatly twisted herself out of Gandalf's grip.  
  
Suddenly Gimli cried out "There's a large cloud coming our way!"  
  
"It's moving fast. And against the wind."  
  
"Crebain from Dunland! Hide!"  
  
They quickly dove for the surrounding shrubbery and rocks. From her cramped position next to (or, more accurately, *under*) Shuwen, Polinn muttered, "look out for the dive-bombers".  
  
"True enough, when they emerged some time later, Gwen had a white splodge on her hair, and Aragorn one on his already-very-dirty clothes. With a snigger, Silei upended the now rather much cooled pot of water over the ranger.  
  
"Next stop, Caradhras. Passengers going towards......err......Lórien, Rohan, and Mordor, please alight and transfer to another......path." [A/N: this is what the damned MRT, or mass Rapid Transit, says whenever it gets to an interchange. It's just a matter of fill-in-the-blanks to where the train's going.]  
  
"Sara....."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Coming up, Over the Mountain. 


	22. The Experiment

Chapter 22: The Experiment  
  
The holiday euphoria's starting to set in!!!!! ONE WEEK TO GO! You can probably expect a sudden barrage of updates come 7th of June.  
  
Disclaimer: Who's do you think it is?! Mine? Hers?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Cold, swirling snow. The whole world was white, filled with flurrying snowflakes.  
  
Gwen crossly pulled her feet out of the deep snow and sank them in again. Trudging behind her, Diana was trying to coax her skittish mount to move. Holding the woven bag she never let go of nearer under the billowing cloak and tugging on the lead rope of the more placid and trusting dapple grey, Pris was grumbling something under her breath. The situation was decidedly not good. Not only did they have to get themselves halfway up the mountain before Gandalf realised it was hopeless to go on, but each girl had a horse to manage, and, in Sara and Diana's case, a very skittish one at that. Sara had had to resort to the cloth-over-eyes method, which was usually reserved for most dire situations.  
  
"Let's have a break!" Merry called out.  
  
So the company halted. The girls gratefully cleared a patch and sank to the ground, keeping close together. Their horses bunched up, fidgeting ceaselessly.  
  
"Bloody freakin' hell......"  
  
"Cold. Absoballylutely freezing cold."  
  
"Stupid horse gave me rope burns."  
  
"The hem of my godamned dress is soaked and so are my shoes."  
  
"My fingers are NUMB."  
  
*  
  
Aragorn and Boromir were failing miserably in their attempts to light a fire. If there was so much as an ember, the biting wind instantly blew it out. The wood was damp, and the two men repeatedly choked on the smoke. Gwen could be heard whispering, "See? Smoking is bad for your health!"  
  
"Gandalf, *please*?"  
  
Absently, the Istari shook his head.  
  
"Please......"  
  
"Look, in this weather it's not as if anyone can see through this snow."  
  
With a deep heavy sigh, Gandalf pointed his staff to the faggot in Aragorn's hands.  
  
"Yeouch!"  
  
The Ranger quickly dropped the wood as it burst into flame.  
  
"What was that for?!"  
  
The eighteen of them gathered around the fire. Gandalf produced the Miruevor [A/N: Don't have the book with me so I can't refer and am not exactly sure of the spelling.....].  
  
"Uh-oh......"  
  
"I don't think we're *allowed* to drink alcohol. None of us has reached eighteen yet."  
  
"Oh well. If we can't have alcohol I have warheads."  
  
"You actually had *sweets* all along and you *never* told us?!"  
  
"NEZ!"  
  
"I was saving them." The girl in question sulked. But she passed the sour candies around anyway.  
  
There was the customary sixty seconds of puckered mouths and fidgeting after the sweets were popped in before the candies became sweet.  
  
"Hey, I just thought of a *little* experiment to pass the time." Shuwen grinned.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Aim or objective: To find out whether elves can stomach warheads."  
  
"I got another one." Sara grinned. "To see, no, *observe* the result when elves eat warheads."  
  
Polinn had cottoned on.  
  
"Hypothesis: the elf, no, test subject, will jump all the way over the cliff."  
  
"Procedure....."  
  
*  
  
Legolas looked over at the girls.  
  
"Mmmmm........"  
  
"Yum......."  
  
"The last one's mine!"  
  
They were passing around a bag and taking small packets of thing from it. Presumably the packets were made of paper as the ripped so easily. In the packets were what looked like discs of hard things, and these the girls ate.  
  
*  
  
Aragorn glanced up. Legolas was jumping around in an attitude very unbecoming of an Elven prince.  
  
"Legolas, man agorech?" (What did you do?)  
  
The elf made no reply except to gulp down a whole flask of water. When he had swallowed, he returned to his original demeanor.  
  
"What happened?" Aragorn enquired, seeing his friend's relieved face.  
  
"Do all the young ones of your race have such......deranged senses of taste? They called it a *sweet* but, oh Eru, it's SOUR."  
  
From the other side of the camp a voice wafted over.  
  
"Conclusion: The hypothesis is rejected. Let's make a new one."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"We must go back!"  
  
"He's trying to bring down the mountain!"  
  
"EEEEEE!"  
  
There was a frantic scuffle as the Company dove for cover. A huge cascade of snow thundered down. If this was Everest, noone would have made it to the top yet, not in all its thousand or so years of existence.  
  
"If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it! Let us go through the mines of Moria!"  
  
"NO!!!!" Inez yelled at him. She knew all too well what was in store for her favourite character.  
  
"Think of something better, Shorty!"  
  
"Gandalf! Let us go through the Mines!"  
  
The wizard was silent for a while, as if contemplating. He sighed resignedly.  
  
"Let the Ring-bearer decide."  
  
"We will go through the Mines."  
  
"No, Nezzo, you will NOT kill the Ring-bearer!" Polinn panted, trying to restrain her.  
  
"But -"  
  
"Yet."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	23. A journey in the Dark part 1

Chapter 23: A Journey in the Dark  
  
Yes, I *finally* get around to updating.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't tell me about them. Not after I did my IRS report.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
So now the Company stood in front of the stone doors.  
  
"They read 'the Doors of Durin, lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter'."  
  
"How long d'you reckon it'll take them to figure it out?"  
  
"How long before we get the nice reception from the watcher in the water?"  
  
Blades were unsheathed and arrows notched onto bowstrings. Polinn was keeping up a whispered mantra of "No movie verse, no movie verse......."  
  
Aragorn came over to the girls.  
  
"The mines are no place for your horses. They have been useful enough but you have to let them go back here."  
  
"It's true." Sara sighed. "Horses don't climb stairs, and definitely not in the dark."  
  
Gwen and Pris were conducting a whispered conversation, then turned to Sara and Diana.  
  
"That's it!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Unload the important things only, and leave the tack on."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You'll see." Sara grinned.  
  
When they had complied, the two whispered soft words into the ears of their steeds, and then the horses turned out led by the storm grey and the black. Sam let Bill loose after them.  
  
Suddenly Frodo cried out, "What's the Elvish word for friend?"  
  
"Mellon."  
  
"Oooh boy. Guess what, we get to do this movie verse."  
  
There was the screech of grating stone, and the doors swung open. They filed in. Gimli was rambling on about "good food and roaring fire and how it was called a MINE" and Diana had a smirk on her face as she anticipated the dwarf's reaction later on. She had never liked dwarves, and, come to think of it, WHO DID?!  
  
"This isn't a mine." Boromir murmured. Shuwen finished the sentence.  
  
"It's a TOMB."  
  
"OUT! OUT!" Claire screamed, catching sight of the hideously mutated orc and dwarf skeletons lying around. And then it was the moment the Watcher chose to attack. There was a choked yell as Frodo found himself taking flying lessons from a giant squid of a thing. Silei was the first to react, and make a slash for the tentacles.  
  
"Chao you yu!" Sara laughed. [Chinese translation: fried cuttlefish.]  
  
Next to go were two more tentacles as Polinn and Shuwen did their piece. Sara was enjoying herself, and there were six on her "killed" list already.  
  
"Into the mines!"  
  
"SHIT!"  
  
The slower Pris and Inez had to be dragged back, past the falling debris.  
  
Boom.  
  
Crash.  
  
Thud.  
  
The rocks settled. They were in pitch dark.  
  
Chk. Fsssht. A flame appeared.  
  
"Thank god I brought flint and tinder." Gwen smiled. Gandalf looked robbed of the moment when he would light his staff, but he lit it anyway.  
  
Inez produced a map of Middle Earth. Legolas looked relieved, and snatched it from her. Inez growled and pulled it back. Diana and Pris looked up as one.  
  
"Isn't that the one that went missing?"  
  
And then the parchment ripped.  
  
"Lovely!" Gwen exploded. "You two just HAD to do that, did you?!"  
  
Legolas was looking rather shocked at being scolded by a *mortal* child, barely *half* his height, and definitely with less prowess than him. [A/N: No offence meant, Gwen!]  
  
"SHUT UP!" Gandalf cut across the bickering. "It is three days or more across theses mines. What's more, there may be orcs.  
  
"Balrog." Polinn mouthed.  
  
"Better not say." Pris mouthed.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
The Company followed Gandalf in twos and threes. The Istari strode ahead, brandishing his staff. With him walked Gimli, still sniffling something awful. Following were the four hobbits, and then Diana, Pris, Gwen, and Sara, then Silei, Nez, and Claire. Polinn and Shuwen were being incooperative and making life difficult for poor Legolas, trying to keep them from stopping at every opportunity to distract him so Sara could, miraculously, appear from the front and give his hair a tug, and this occurred rather often.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Cold, tired, hungry, bored......" Inez ticked off her fingers. "What else?"  
  
"Need the horses, need a *lot* more light....." Shuwen continued.  
  
"Need to kill hobitses for eating our dinner while we were busy checking out the location." Gwen finished. "Can we get a break?!"  
  
They forced Gandalf into calling a halt, and dropped wearily onto the ground. Gwen lit a candle from the supply she had.  
  
"This place freaks."  
  
Polinn peered over the edge of the steep staircase they sat on. It was a long way down. Too long for comfort. Somewhere down there lurked the Balrog......  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Blah. No comment. 


	24. Journey in the dark part 2

Chapter 24: A Journey in the Dark, Part 2.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine and therefore definitely not yours.  
  
THE EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Finally* the chapter got finished.....rewritten 8 times, it's a record...... And yes it's a miracle. I finally get round to updating.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Only now I know the value of my watch." Pris grumbled.  
  
"I've lost all track of time."  
  
"Is it yesterday or yesterday's tomorrow or tomorrow or - "  
  
"It's today. Fullstop."  
  
"Shut UP."  
  
"Oh no....... The flint 'n tinder's running out........"  
  
No sooner were the words spoken than the torch flickered, guttered, and died out.  
  
"Perfect. Utterly perfect."  
  
"OW!!!!!"  
  
"What on earth?"  
  
"What *under* the earth, you mean......."  
  
"Just walked slapbang into his royal highness of Mirkwood here." Shuwen answered scathingly.  
  
"Ow yourself." Legolas scowled, rubbing ruefully at his back.  
  
"Shurrup."  
  
"Little pestilence."  
  
"*Little*? Hah."  
  
"Shut UP Nez."  
  
"SILENCE!" Gandalf yelled at them.  
  
"Look who's shouting."  
  
"He should be glad not to have heard Shana's "Suilaid, mae govannen, havo dad, dina" routine yet..........." [A/N: It's this girl in our class, got the habit of raiding our notebooks, and guess what she pieced together.]  
  
Then suddenly the air became less musty, evidence there was circulation. Then Pris and Gwen, who had been in front, fell down a short flight of steps. They were at the Twenty-first hall. The others decided to take the easier way of getting down the steps.  
  
"I will risk a little more light." Gandalf muttered, and there was a sudden lightning flash.  
  
"Hey cool........"  
  
"Whee......look how high it goes........"  
  
"Now there's an eye-opener an' no mistake.........."  
  
"Huh?!"  
  
There was s sudden grunt and then Gimli broke out into a clanking run. Bounce clang into the Chamber of Marzabul.  
  
"Noooo!!!!!!!"  
  
Wham. He bashed his head into the stone of Balin's tomb, sobbing something resembling a pig when you drop an elephant onto it.  
  
"Shut UP, pieface." Shuwen scowled.  
  
As the rest filed in, Gandalf turned his attention to the runes.  
  
"Here lies Balin son of Fundin, lord of Moria. He is dead then. I feared so."  
  
The dwarf's wailing struck up anew. Tiredness and days in the dark had made Gwen rather irritable, and this was the last straw.  
  
"SHUT THE HECK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The echoes from the outburst hadn't died down before there was a loud crash reverberating around the chamber. Pippin stood guiltily by the well.  
  
"Fool of a took!" Gandalf growled. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!"  
  
Polinn took a deep breath. The entire company stood stock still, listening, as Gandalf turned back to the book of Marzabul.  
  
"They are coming."  
  
Doom. Doom. Doom...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yeah I know this chapter is short but hell. I'm BUSY. My parents evidently don't know the meaning of "Holiday". Hey at least I updated! Happy? You'd better be. 


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